Credible People Are Easier To Agree With? Go Figure.

You bet they are.

A good reputation is half the battle.

But this principle of credibility is broader than an individual’s reputation.

Sure an individual can be confident, but the entire environment can matter too.

For example, pretend I am trying to convince you how good a particular red wine is.

The context matters.

I could sit you in a dirty fast food restaurant in Lubbock, Texas and have a person in a t-shirt hand you a paper cup of wine.

How does it taste?

Or, I could sit you in one of the best French restaurants in all of New York City. A perfectly dressed sommelier comes out, introduces herself. She tells you about growing up near a French vineyard and serves you a glass of wine in a crystal glass. The lights of the city shimmer from the window and the tablecloth is a spotless white.

How did that wine taste?

You will especially get the point when I tell you that the Lubbock glass was $200 a bottle, and the New York bottle was $4.