Friends ask friends to wear masks.

 

Public shaming is very popular these days.  Here's what my students had to say about it last month...

 

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2020/11/should-we-be-shaming-people-into-doing.html

 

I get it.  It's very tempting to call someone out about their bad behavior.  The problem is - who gets to decide what's bad?

 

President-elect Biden has been shaming Trump publicly over the past few weeks in an effort to get him to do his job.  Trump's reaction?  He's playing golf.

 

We really shouldn't be surprised.  Shaming is not on the list of most effective persuasion techniques.

 

What is on the list is liking.  Research shows that taking a few minutes to establish commonalities - which leads to liking, prior to negotiations, results in successful outcomes 90% of the time versus 55%  if this step is skipped. (Cialdini, 2020)

 

Every time we can get another person to wear a mask we all win. 

 

So focus your efforts on people who like you.  Explain that you wear your mask to protect them.  Ask them to do the same for you. 

 

You never know, it might just work.

 

 

Cialdini, R. (2020) Science of Persuasion.  Influence at Work.  retrieved December 30, 2020, from

https://www.influenceatwork.com/principles-of-persuasion/

I'm sure everyone can pronounce Harris properly.

 

It seems like lots of people are spending lots of time discussing how to pronounce Kamala.  I can't imagine why.  Have people been regularly referring to Vice President Pence as Mike?  Of course not.

 

But referring to a woman by her first name is a common trick practiced by insecure men.  A not so subtle put down.  And it works.

 

One can only wonder if it the 2016 election results would have been different if  instead of being "Hillary versus Trump" it was "Clinton versus Donald."

 

Janes, C. (2020, October 24)  Mispronouncing ‘Kamala’: Accident or message?  washingtonpost.com.  Retrieved December 23, 2020 , from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mispronouncing-kamala-accident-or-message/2020/10/23/5927f120-13b3-11eb-ad6f-36c93e6e94fb_story.html

 

Will you do 20 lunges while you wait for the bus?

 

Degree deodorant, which admittedly has a stake in whether or not people exercise, has launched an out-of-home campaign encouraging people to exercise.  Given that a recent Gallup survey found that people have exercised 38% less during the pandemic, the timing seems right.

 

But will it work?

 

Some of the messages -

"Bus Late? Try 20 lunges for every minute you wait."

"Sitting all day?  Try 5 deep jumps before and after you drive."

"Still Walking?  Put on a good beat and move those feet."

 

Would any of these motivate you?  How about someone else?  Would different messaging persuade you?  What and why?  Which persuasive techniques would you employ to motivate people to exercise more?  Any evidence that they would work?

 

Bednarski, P. (2020, October 16)  Degree Deodorant OOH Campaign Urges You To Exercise.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved October 20, 2020, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/356927/degree-deodorant-ooh-campaign-urges-you-to-exercis.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=120149&hashid=sLAHyO7POR-kvmHMPk1YNli2lIQ