Persuasion Tactics – How to Give Bad News
Tips and Tricks in Psychology to Aid Influence and Argument
Psychology is viewed by some as a frightening weapon in the world of persuasion. Subtle tactics, methods and structures of arguments can have a near-unbelievable influence on responses from unaware peers.
This article explores persuasion tactics and data on how to use psychology in order to achieve the desired level of influence, with an emphasis on tactics on how to deliver bad news.
Having to break bad news, as specially news that may lead to accusations and guilt being thrust upon the teller, is never easy or enjoyable. Although it is never going to be simple to tell someone the news that their girlfriend got "a little too drunk" and did some things she may now regret, or that it was necessary to "borrow" the last of the beer late last night, simple techniques can help reduce the damage caused to relationships.
Although obviously these should not be relied upon, or indeed taken as an easy excuse to act inappropriately, but these methods can help to dilute sour feelings.
The Favour of Forgiveness
Forgiveness in such situations is virtually a favour on loan from the forgiver. A classic study performed by Langer (1978) investigated how excuses and giving reasons can help swing an argument. The study investigated whether people would sacrifice their place in a queue for a photocopying machine in a library.
Findings show that when the library patrons were given no reason for the cutting in (i.e. the person simply said "Excuse me, I have 5 pages, may I use the Xerox machine") 60% of people gave their space willingly
When the patrons were given a seemingly valid excuse (i.e. "Excuse me, I have 5 pages, may I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush") 94% of people gave their space willingly.
Interestingly when patrons were given a seemingly meaningless and obvious reason (i.e. ‘‘Excuse me, I have 5 pages, may I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make some copies’) they still gave their space willingly 93% of the time.
This shows that the very notion of a reason and excuse can lead someone to assume that the responsibility for error is not in the hands of the person in front of them.
Therefore the creation of an excuse (for example, "I had to borrow your beer, because otherwise I would have had to drink water") may well help ease the situation, despite the fact it realistically seems a meaningless argument.
Robert Cialdini suggests that this could well be the reason why so often the very childlike excuse of "just… because…." is still given and still seems to work in adults.
Contrasting Arguments
Providing contrasting arguments is a very famous and surprisingly successful technique.
This is the technique of making bad news seem easier to cope with and less offensive if it is put next to some comparatively "worse" news (therefore if ever asked, take the bad news first, the good news will seem much much brighter).
This technique is used greatly in commercial enterprises. The famous example is the car salesman who is asked by an unsuspecting customer to provide him with a fine standard model of a car with a few accessories. The clerk will first propose the most expensive car he feels the customer can realistically afford.
After this heavy knock the comparatively small cost of unnecessary accessories will seem like a breath of fresh air. Therefore the clerk can have easy work selling the satellite navigation, the surround sound mp3 player and the silk, fluffy dice for the mirror.
This shows that context and contrasting arguments is a very effective way to try to make bad news seem less significant.
For example, “I just got home, I’d had my wallet stolen, all my identification, all my money, my cards, my whole life – gone. Then I found out that my shares are plummeting, I doubt I’m even gonna be able to afford a replacement. So I got here and just needed to drink the final beer in the fridge. I’m very sorry. And by the way, I didn’t actually have my wallet stolen and my shares are fine, but I did drink the beer. But in the larger scheme of things, at least we’ve still got our lives with us haven’t we?”
It sounds farcical, but from a psychological standpoint, it is surprisingly helpful.
Reciprocation and Giving Bad News
The phenomenon of reciprocation and reciprocal-altruism is fascinating. In the very simplest of terms, it refers to the idea of, "You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours."
This has a huge unseen impact on individuals. People give more to charities and organizations such as the Hare Krishna’s simply because they provide potential donors with a "free-gift." A survey questionnaire will receive up to 50% more completed replies if the original survey is sent will a dollar bill enclosed (May, 1976). People feel intrinsically encouraged to help those who have already "helped" them.
Therefore, in order to break bad news with as little damage as possible, it is a good idea to present the person who is receiving it a small gift or a complimentary kind word. To return to the example: "Here, I bought you a Milky Bar, I know they're your favourite. And by the way, I'm sorry but I drank the last beer last night."
This should persuade them to feel more guilt towards punishing the cause of the bad news as they have just given received something kind from them. There are several more techniques in order to use persuasion to try and help an argument fall the desired way. This is only the first in a series, which will try and provide those tips and tricks.
Readers may also enjoy Persuasion Tactics and How to Ask a Favour.
Also the third article is published here:
http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/persuasion_tactics_making_bad_ideas_sound_good
Resources:
- Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
- Langer, E,J. (1978). Rethinking the role of thought in social interaction. New directions in attribution research, Vol.2.
- May , R, B. (1976). Business Bulletin. Wall Street Journal. P.1.
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