If you speak to System II [thinking] (i.e. pose something complex enough that it requires reasoning), you’re asking to be doubted. Many of us have had the thought while listening to someone: “I don’t know why you’re wrong, but I still don’t believe you.” That’s System II doing its job. To persuade someone, you need to speak as much as you can to System I who want to believe you (because it just makes so much darn sense, what’s not to love?). Trouble is, most [people] express themselves with complexity, nuance, facts and figures. That’s their default, and it doesn’t appeal to people’s unconscious processor. The next step to mastering persuasion is understanding the biases and shortcuts the human brain automatically makes to cope with the constant information the world throws at us. Learning how to lean into these shortcuts makes it easier to speak to System I more of the time.
Author: Tyler Odean
Source: First Round Review
Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior, Persuasion
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