Small changes Big Influence

BIG SMALL CHANGES INFLUENCE THE SCIENCE BEHIND PERSUASION What persuades us to say "yes" in any given situation? Scientists have studied the science of persuasion for over 60 years, and it has been discovered that it is often the smallest changes that spark the biggest influence. Three highly respected authorities in the field, Noah Goldstein, Robert Cialdini and Steven Martin, describe this phenomenon in their recent book - The Small Big. When persuading someone to complete a task is it better to focus on the progress made or the effort remaining to complete the task? The answer, always focus on the smaller amount whether that be progress made or effort remaining. For example. A sales supervisor, towards the beginning of the month would be far more persuasive in getting 20% of the way to your target" as opposed to " You still have 80% to go". In contrast later on in the month when more progress has been made, he would be more persuasive by focusing his team on the effort remaining. "You only have 20% to go to reach your target". Studies show that always focussing on whichever amount is smaller, is one small change you can make to greatly improve your persuasiveness. his team to focus on the progress made towards their target. "You are already 20% 80% FOR SALE In a study by Malia Mason and colleagues, participants where asked to imagine they were selling a used car and given one of three offers by potential buyers. One offer was a round $2000, but the other two were much more exact, one of $1865 the other $2135. Offers Counter Offers The sellers where then asked to come up with counter offers. The two more exact offers typically $1865 +10% $2050 received counter offers that were only about 10% higher than the proposed price. The more rounded $2000 price typically received counters 23% higher than the proposed price, why? Because people in receipt of a precise offer will tend to think the person who made that offer $2000 +23% $2460 will have invested time and effort preparing it and therefore has good reasons to support the offer. So when negotiating with others, one small change you can make to greatly improve your persuasiveness, would be to start with a precise offer. $2135 +10% $2350 2008 US. Presldential Primary In a study by researchers during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary elections, VOTING registered voters where called using one of three scripts shown here. The first script simply reminded voters that is an IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY voting is an important responsibility. The script was the same as the first with the addition of a question the person intended to vote. The third script was the same as the first this time 3 follow up second asking asking whether i 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary except questions were asked that encouraged people to create a voting plan consisting of what time they intend to vote. Where they will be coming from and what they would be doing beforehand. VOTING is an IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY WILL YOUVOTE? 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary VOTING is an IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY • What time will you vote? • Where will you be coming from? • What will you be doing beforehand? Ш Why? This is because the third script asked people to identify a few simple, concrete steps that they would take in order to register their vote. This process is called implementation intentions and is a great example of a small change that you can make to your persuasive The study showed that the third script was most effective.Voter turnout increased by an average of 4 percentage points and by 9 percentage points in single voter households. A big difference for such a small and cost free change in approach. strategy to make it more effective. It is estimated that missed healthcare appointments in the UK costs the industry nearly 800 million pounds annually. Robert Cialdini and co authors Noah Goldstein and Steve Martin looked into what small changes could be made to the appointment process that would make big changes to the amount of missed appointments. They ran a study in three busy doctors offices in the US where they asked patients to. I) Read back their appointment time to 2) Write down the time and date of the appointment themselves. the receptionist over the telephone. 18% 3:15 3% 3:15 Less missed appointments Asking patients to do the first option led to a 3% decrease in missed appointments. However asking patients to perform the second option led to a staggering 18% reduction. This small change, that costs almost nothing to implement, could potentially lead to millions of pounds in savings if it were scaled up industry wide. Officials at HMRC had the problem that too many citizens were not submitting their tax returns and paying what they owed on time. Early in 2009, in consultation with the company Influence at Work, HMRC decided to take a slightly different approach. Informed by persuasion science, they added a single sentence to their standard letter that lead to some remarkable results. POSTBOX HM Revenue For years the HMRC had tried numerous different & Customs letters and communications targeted at late payers that focussed on the various Dear Mr. Taxpayer, consequences of late payment such as interest charges, late fees and even legal action. None of these approaches had much effect on the numbers that paid on time. Influence at Work, guided by the principles of social proof and consensus, advised HMRC to change the letters script. It is now time to submit your tax return form. Failure to do this may result in... Interest charges - Lates fees - Legal action Please submit your tax return on time! HM Revenue & Customs Dear Mr. Taxpayer. Influence at work advised HMRC to change their standard letter by simply adding a single sentence at the end informing the recipient of the large numbers that actually pay It is now time to submit your tax return form. Failure to do this may result in.. Interest charges - Lates fees - Legal action their taxes on time. This small, cost free, change led to the collection of £560 million of the £650 million Did you know that most people do submit their tax return and pay on time? debt. A clearance rate of 86%! The year before the clearance rate was just 57%. This real world example shows that very small changes, when backed by persuasion science, can lead to amazing results. 86% 57% Clearance rate after Clearance rate the changing the letter. year before. It is clear from these examples that it is often the smallest change that leads to the greatest impact when trying to be influential and persuasive. These "small bigs" can often be virtually cost free and lead to effective, efficient and ethical changes in behaviour. For lots more examples of small changes that can spark big influence check out the book The Small Big. Sources: The Small Big By: Steve J. Martin, Noah J. Goldstein and Robert B. Cialdini Virtual (VIP)