"Persuasion Traps" - Accompanies Lesson: 6
Objectives
Students will:
- Recognize common "Persuasion Traps" that can act against making good judgments regarding the trustworthiness of salespeople and advertising.
LifeFacts to be Taught
There exist common sales techniques or "Persuasion Traps" that can confuse judgment with regard to trusting organizations that sell goods and services.
Teacher Notes
Select Teaching Pictures 53-59.
When dealing with salespeople in the community (or on TV) who are expert in "the art of compliance" it is important to be especially distrustful. Although the Smart Trust Questions help in protecting us from making inappropriate decisions, the power of the "compliance techniques" used by many salespeople is so effective that we may be persuaded to buy in spite of ourselves. Knowing these techniques will go a long way in protecting us from them. Teaching Picture 53 illustrates a technique which capitalizes on the fact that people have been trained to believe that a favor must be repaid, even if the original favor was not requested.
Discussion
Persuasion Trap: Give away something in order to get something back.
This guy thought he was getting a good deal when he saw the ad for a free vacation in return for "just looking at a condo timeshare. When he went to "just look," he found himself continually pressured to buy. After all, they gave him a vacation. By nature, people feel indebted if they are given something and tend to want to give something back in return. Salespeople often take advantage of this human tendency.
Emphasize that we are not required to repay unasked-for favors.