Persuasion and Influence - The Remarkable Law of
Expectation
This
article reveals a powerful law in the realm of persuasion and influence - the
law of expectation.
When you
expect someone to do what you want, and that person treats you with respect
or
admires/looks up to you, you have already increased your chances of success
higher.
The magic
word here is "expect". You expect your child to get high grades in
school and
he will
get high grades. You tell your son that he's a bright student, you really
expect that
to happen,
and your son will meet or exceed your expectations.
Why is
this persuasion and influence principle so effective?
We aim to
meet, if not exceed, others' expectations of us, especially if we stand to gain
benefits
like getting rewards, earning trust, or being regarded highly.
There have
been cases where the law of expectation has produced miraculous results.
Take the
case of some cancer patients who were given placebo pills. These are just plain
pills that
have no healing capabilities. So how did they get well?
They were
told that these pills contain tremendous amounts of cancer-busting ingredients
that can
effectively heal their sickness quickly. They believed and "expected"
to be cured,
and so
that's what happened. The power of the subconscious mind is truly
extraordinary.
They say
that people act or behave according to how you treat them. When we assign a
person
certain positive qualities or attributes, that person will allow us to believe
that what
we said is
true.
So if you
treat, let's say, an average student as a genius, and tell him that his
performance
exhibits
that of a highly intellectual person, he will allow us to believe it and indeed
become
a very
smart person. Try it; you'll be tremendously surprised.
If you're
a parent, assign positive qualities to your children, even if they don't have
those
qualities
yet. Tell them they're smart, and they will indeed become smart. That's the
power
of persuasion
and influence.
We can use
this to our advantage by adding certain words such as "You probably
already
know"
or "You probably realize" in our statements. This is powerful because
you are
assuming
yet unconsciously suggesting at the same time.
Example:
"You
probably already know that this is the best deal you can ever find."
Some
people assume that they are being perceived in a particular way, and they will
act
according
to their own perceptions.
An
employee, who assumes that his co-workers perceive him as incompetent, will
probably
be unable to fulfill his job well. On the contrary, if that employee thinks
that others
are
praising him for his good work, he will probably produce good results with his
job.
This
persuasion and influence phenomenon has a lot to do with their beliefs. What
you
believe
will happen, can actually manifest into reality.
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