Keywords:: PermanentNote
Reference: R: Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini
New ideas don't just appear anywhere in your brain. They have to connect to existing networks (PN: Understanding facilitates remembering). Therefore, each new idea is always associated with related concepts already present in your mind.
This means that ideas exist within networks of relatives connected through associations (called semantic trees). For example, if you hear the word "car" you will immediately think of related concepts like your own or favorite car; different brands of car-like Mercedes, Audi, Porsche; different parts of the car like tires, engine, etc.
The size of a particular network—the number of elements within and the number of connections between them—determines the accessibility of concepts and ideas it consists of (more here: PN: The size and density of a network determine its creativity). The higher the number of components and associations between them, the more accessible they are.
Concepts that are more accessible become more probable in action. Because, whenever you trigger one element of the network, others become amplified as well.
Conversely, concepts not linked to the opener become suppressed in consciousness, making them less likely than before to receive attention and gain influence. The finite energy requires focus. It's like with our eyes – we can focus only on a tiny fragment of the landscape at a time.
Knowing that, if you want to persuade someone, you need to 'prepare' their mind (i.e., prime them) with concepts associated with your end goal (more here: P: Previous stimuli influence our decisions (priming)).
You can inspire such associations in numerous ways, but the most effective ones are there are two main categories – verbal and non-verbal. Verbal methods consist of ideas and metaphors shared through voice. For example, hearing Italian music will make you more likely to buy Italian products. Non-verbal include physical properties like cold, heavy, dark, etc. and environmental cues that can influence desired concepts' accessibility. For example, getting a warm tea from someone will make you have more positive feelings towards them.
Relevant notes/questions:
PN: Personalization to increase attention, persuasion, and recall
Btw. association might be the reason we like or dislike certain names. We associate names with people and people with their qualities. So, whenever we hear a name the associations popup immediately and we instantly have an opinion.
Summary: {{word-count}}
PN: To persuade think in networks of associations: People think in terms of associations. Concepts that are linked together are more likely to be brought to our attention. If you're linked to positive things, people will think about you in positive terms.
Bringing attention to a particular concept highlights related concepts—they become more accessible (more here: PN: To persuade think in networks of associations). The brain, due to its energy-saving preference (more here: PN: To persuade help the mind save energy), will more readily choose highlighted ideas. It's similar to water—it will more likely fall into ditches (i.e., amplified ideas) rather than flow randomly.
Ideas exist within networks of relatives connected through associations (called semantic trees). For example, if you hear the word "car" you will immediately think of related concepts like your personal car, different brands of cars, your favorite car, different parts of the car like tires, engine, etc. (more here: PN: To persuade think in networks of associations)
The environment has a powerful impact on how people behave. Other people's ideas make us more creative, we tend to become like the people we spend the most time with, [pictures of winners make us more likely to succeed](TK PN: How to use the environment for your goals). One of the reasons for that is that the environment contains different cues that trigger powerful associations which then influence our choices and actions.
PN: What is focal is important; PN: To persuade think in networks of associations: those with higher status may be more persuasive due to being more salient, social proof, and halo effect.
Through priming and association your surroundings—people, places, things—influence what you think and do. For example, hearing Italian music makes you more likely to buy Italian wines, upbeat music makes you more likely to spend more, and other people's ideas make you more creative. The saying that you're the average of your five closest people is in general true (just look at your own life to get proof). And most of it happens unconsciously.