How to Persuade People by Giving Better Reasons

"Across 49 studies involving almost 9,000 participants, rational persuasion was estimated to have a 7 to 12 percent relationship with achieving the desired outcome [4]. Further, if this technique has worked for you, it might be for reasons you don't expect. Research indicates that people confronted by a colleague listing reasons why he or she should do something often agree because it is highly uncomfortable to say no [5]."

"We give reasons that matter to ourselves, not others: Rational persuasion occurs so often because it is relatively easy to do. When you want something, it is usually easy to think of the reasons you want it. Yet reasons that matter to us rarely matter to our influence targets. Consider your own experience of being asked to do something because the person contacting you says they need it, or because they are under pressure, or because their boss is asking for it."

Rational persuasion is the practice of giving a series of reasons to persuade colleagues to comply. This approach is commonly used in the workplace but shows only a modest 7–12 percent relationship with achieving desired outcomes across 49 studies and nearly 9,000 participants. People often agree when presented with many reasons because saying no feels uncomfortable, not because the reasons are persuasive. Reasons provided typically reflect the persuader's priorities rather than the target's, reducing relevance. Adding more content can distract attention from genuinely persuasive information and can harm social capital and long-term influence.

Read at Psychology Today