Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Persuade Parents Like This

Persuade Parents Like This
Kids looking to persuade parents of something should consider this.

Consider the context – the setting of the table – before you ask your parents something.

I mean, you don’t just ask for an allowance raise or keys to the new car.

You might start with a good joke. Do your chores next.

Tell them a heartwarming story that starts with “Remember when…”

Work your name in with the word “responsible” a few times.

Then ask.

Remember that association is persuasive.

And please don’t let my kids find this post one day…

Kids, if you want to persuade your parents to do something nice for you, first show them a YouTube video of someone being nice to their pets. Then change the subject to whatever it is that you want. The emotional state your parents picked up from watching pet-related kindness should rub off and cause them to look more kindly on whatever you are asking them to do for you. Pre-suading, or setting the table, is about creating mental and emotional associations that carry over.
-Scott Adams, Win Bigly

Why To Set The Persuasion Table First

Why To Set The Persuasion Table First
This idea that one could set – or there even exists to set – a “persuasion table” seems crazy.

But if you think about it, it is predominantly about perception.

Sure you can try to convince a person of something, but what you do before that counts too.

If you don’t look the part, act the part, talk the part, and set the expectation, there might not ever even be a chance to persuade.

A person in a dirty t-shirt talking about the economy is less persuasive than a person in a suit doing so.

And if you see me arrive at a sales meeting – it matters if I get out of a 20-year-old lemon – or a new Land Rover.

For persuasion purposes, it is not as easy as brushing it all aside as “superficial” and “materialistic-stuff.”

Appearances persuade: Even if you think they don’t.

This is the same reason why wine can taste different, depending on how you have been prepped.

The concept of setting the table for persuasion has a lot of obvious elements, such as dressing for the part and broadcasting your credentials. But there is also a deeper and scarier level that cognitive scientists have discovered. It turns out that you can influence people’s future opinions simply by exposing them to cleverly selected images and ideas that are totally unrelated to the topic of your persuasion.
-Scott Adams, Win Bigly
Sterling Terrell