Techniques of Persuasion

Question 1

Humor

Answer 1

Commercials that make you smile or giggle or even laugh out loud.

Question 2

Fear

Answer 2

• emotional fear
• fear of false urgency
• fear of urgency

Question 3

Emotional fear

Answer 3

Manipulating with shame and embarrassment - selling products by exploiting emotions that make us uncomfortable.

Question 4

Fear of false urgency

Answer 4

Using the “now or never” psychology to get you to buy products now.

Question 5

Fear of urgency

Answer 5

Don’t miss out!

Question 6

Emotional appeal

Answer 6

• the power of words

- image making

Question 7

The power of words

Answer 7

Using words because of their emotional effects rather than their literal meaning. Brand names are a good example of this technique.

Question 8

Image making

Answer 8

Giving a product a personality.

Question 9

Weasel words

Answer 9

Used to suggest a positive meaning without actually really making any guarantee.

Question 10

Repetition

Answer 10

Using slogans and jingles to program you to remember products.

Question 11

Testimonial

Answer 11

• authority testimony

- plainfolk

Question 12

Authority testimony

Answer 12

Using experts and celebrities to endorse products.

Question 13

Plainfolk

Answer 13

Using “ordinary” people to endorse products.

Question 14

Name calling

Answer 14

Implying faults of competitors - claims falsely imply failings of competitors.

Question 15

Appealing to scientific evidence

Answer 15

• misleading statistics
• overemphasizing new
• promising instant solutions

Question 16

Misleading statistics

Answer 16

Manipulating statistics to support any position

Question 17

Overemphasizing new

Answer 17

Creating “new” and “improved” products to keep consumer buying.

Question 18

Promising instant solutions

Answer 18

Offering “instant” solutions to life problems rather than healthy solutions.

Question 19

Transfer

Answer 19

Positive words, images, and ideas are used to suggest that the product being sold is also positive.

Question 20

Bandwagon

Answer 20

Appealing to the desires to belong to the majority, to be accepted as a member of the “group”.

Question 21

The rhetorical question

Answer 21

This technique demands a response from the audience. A question is asked and the viewer or listener is supposed to answer in such a way as to affirm the product’s goodness.

Question 22

Bribery

Answer 22

Offers you something “extra”.

Question 23

Snob appeal

Answer 23

The suggestion that the use of the product makes the customer part of an elite group with a luxurious and glamorous lifestyle.

Question 24

Flattery

Answer 24

The claim may say nothing about the product, but it does wonders for the ego.