What one word can get people to say “Yes”?
Noah J. Goldstein, PhD, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini, PhD write this in their book (Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive):
“But is it possible that just a single word from a requester could drastically increase the likelihood that you’d say, “Yes, go ahead”?
Yes–and the single word is because. Behavioral scientist Ellen Langer and her colleagues decided to put the persuasive power of this word to the test. In one study, Langer arranged fro a stranger to approach someone waiting in line to use a photocopier and simple ask, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” Faced with this direct request to cut ahead in the line, 60 percent of the people were willing to agree to allow the stranger to go ahead of them. However, when the stranger made the request with a reason (“May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?”), almost everyone (94 percent) complied. This kind of boost may not seem very surprising. After all, providing a solid reason for the request justifies asking to jump ahead.
The Xerox study demonstrates the unique motivational influence of the word because. The word gets its persuasive power from the continually reinforced association over the course of our lives between because and the good rationales that typically follow….”
It’s a powerful word so don’t forget to use it–just because I said so!