There is no persuasion without contrast. No one ever bought a product because the seller said it’s the same as the competition’s. People want to feel they’re getting the best and you have to show why your product or point of view is better.
Pushing seems to be the simple answer for too many – a matter of getting the person from Point A to Point B. While it may initially bring numbers, will it bring lasting satisfaction? People want to buy; they do not want to be sold.
Persuasion through relieving fears is known in fancy-speak circles as “reducing reactance.” But the point is simply to find the real reasons for hesitation and then provide reassurances that what they sign up for is what they get – no surprises.
Today, in contrast, government bureaucrats write rule after rule after rule hoping to achieve a uniform, fault-free society. Following the tradition of Pharisees, they exponentially out-do their biblical-counterpart busybodies. Rather than a mere 613 rules (so many steps allowed on the Sabbath, and so forth), today the administrative state has smothered Americans with hundreds of thousands of regulations. Hundreds of thousands. And the list of do’s and don’ts in our rule-giddy society grows by the hour.
If you want to persuade, treat people as smart enough to govern themselves with principles rather than Pharisaical objects to be manipulated through tons of picky rules. Give them the latitude that comes with a guidance of principles. Help them enjoy being properly persuaded.