People are drawn to simple answers.
For while our minds are pulled in a million different directions a thousand times a day, clarity can sound like a shot in the dark.
This is true in regard to politics, and it is true in regard to products.
For this, we are talking specifically about persuasion.
Simplicity and clarity are persuasive.
Facts are, unfortunately, not persuasive.
Take a possibly controversial example.
While it is true that minimum wage laws cause unemployment among less-skilled workers, reading this is probably not persuasive.
Does the cost of an increase in unemployment outweigh higher wages by others?
Should we be limiting the freedom of exchange?
Who should decide?
Outside of economics majors, few care about these details.
Repeating: “Greedy corporations should be forced to pay a fair wage” is persuasive though.
See the difference?
Whenever there is mass confusion and complexity, people automatically gravitate to the strongest, most confident voice. We humans don’t like uncertainty, so we are attracted to those who offer clarity and simple answers, even if the answers are wrong or incomplete. Master Persuaders can thrive in chaotic environments by offering the clarity people crave.
