In the previous post we discussed how context can affect how individuals make decisions. The\u00a0experiment\u00a0by the\u00a0Carnegie\u00a0Mellon University team that showed this did not stop there however. They also tested how phrasing can affect an individual\u2019s likelihood to divulge information [See The Best of Strangers].<\/p>\n
For example you could ask someone a question in 3 ways:<\/span><\/strong> All three ways extract personal information (whether or not you have done hard drugs). But the Carnegie Mellon team discovered that method 2 was 1.8 times more likely to\u00a0elicit\u00a0a personal admission than method 1, and method 3 was 2.21 times more likely.<\/p>\n So what does this mean?<\/p>\n Phrasing\/Wording Matters!\u2026. It Matters A Lot!<\/strong><\/p>\n How you phrase a question, the copy on a website, the text on an\u00a0advertisement or anything else, is incredibly important. Let\u2019s look at a practical example of this:<\/p>\n Patrick Renvois\u00e9 [see Neuro-marketing: is there a \u2018buy button\u2019\u2026.], an author of various marketing books once came across a homeless man outside a restaurant holding a sign that said \u201cHOMELESS PLEASE HELP.\u201d He offered the man two dollars on the condition that he could change the sign for 2 hours, and offered the man $5 if he would wait for him to come out. \u00a0Two hours later, Patrick\u00a0Renvois\u00e9 came out of the restaurant, and instead of giving the homeless man $5, the homeless man insisted on giving him\u00a0$10. Why? \u00a0Because the new sign \u201cWHAT IF YOU WERE HUNGRY\u201d made the homeless man $30 an hour, more than triple the norm.<\/p>\n What this shows is the power of wording. Many studies have been done on this topic, and many posts in this blog will cover more of the neuroscience behind it. \u00a0But until those posts appear, consider this:<\/p>\n A 2006 study [see On The Potential\u2026] \u00a0found that when the\u00a0sentence\u00a0\u201cYou can trust us to do the job for you\u201d was placed at the end of an advertisement, individuals rating the ad on criteria found competency to be 33% better, quality 30% better, fair treatment 20% better etc. In other words, you can improve the success of your business online, just by telling your customers they can trust you.<\/p>\n You can trust us with this sound advice.<\/p>\n In the future we will cover various topics such as:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n So make sure you check back weekly or subscribe, so you can learn the secrets to a successful business.<\/p>\n Sources Cited \/ Further Research<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Best of Strangers: Context Willingness to Divulge Personal Information<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Leslie K. Jon, Allesandro Acquisti, George Loewenstein \u2013http:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1430482<\/a><\/p>\n Neuro-marketing: Is There a \u2018Buy Button\u2019 in the Brain? Selling to the Old Brain for Instant Success<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Patrick Renvois\u00e9, Christophe Morin \u2013\u00a0At Google Books<\/a><\/p>\n
\n1.<\/span>\u00a0\u201chave you ever done hard drugs\u201d
\n2.<\/span>\u00a0Rate the following from 1 to 10, where 1 is not ethical and 10 is very ethical, only if you have engaged in it.
\n\u201cdoing hard drugs\u201d
\n3.<\/span>\u00a0Rate the following from 1 to 10, where 1 is not ethical and 10 is very ethical, only if you have -not- engaged in it.
\n\u201cdoing hard drugs\u201d<\/p>\n\n