Presuasion

What is presuasion?

Presuasion, also spelled pre-suasion and styled “Pre-Suasion” by Robert Cialdini, is his label for shaping a recipient's attention or psychological context before making a persuasive request.

In the introduction to Pre-Suasion (2016), he describes preparing the setting and frame before presenting an offer. The timing of this preparation is what distinguishes the idea from the content of the request itself.

Presuasion example

A marketer might ask people to think about reliability before presenting a product offer. The proposed presuasion step is the preparation before the offer. Whether it changes attention, agreement or purchasing is a question for that specific comparison.

Presuasion and priming research

The label covers a broad approach, rather than one experimental procedure. It should not be equated with all priming research. Evidence for a particular technique must show what was changed, what outcome followed and under what conditions.