Repetition Is Persuasive. So Is Repetition.
“Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”
Napoleon Hill
Repetition is an oft-used lever of persuasion because it’s simple yet highly effective.
Next time you watch Donald Trump speak, pay attention to how often he repeats a phrase. He knows listeners are more likely to believe his statements if he repeats them.
As Scott Adams explains in Win Bigly:
“Trump sometimes ends his statements by saying, ‘It’s true. It’s true.’ That’s because repetition is persuasion. If you frequently hear that a thing is true, it biases you to think there might be something to it.”
And there’s a lot of evidence to back that up.
WHY REPETITION IS PERSUASIVE
In Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman touches on the behavioral psychology research about repetition:
“Anything that makes it easier for the associative machine [aka, your brain] to run smoothly will also bias beliefs. A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.”
In other words, your brain is totally lazy and loves the path of least resistance. This is a deep-seated evolutionary trait; if your brain has already encountered repeated information, it’s easier for it to process because it’s already familiar. So your mind likes it more, and is biased to believe the information is true.
Kahneman cites studies proving repetition biases people to believe statements, like this one:
“People who were repeatedly exposed to the phrase ‘the body temperature of a chicken’ were more likely to accept as true the statement that ‘the body temperature of a chicken is 144° (or any other arbitrary number).”
DECENT EXPOSURE
So your brain is more likely to perceive repeated information is true. But it’s also more likely to “like” things it’s familiar with.
This is known as the Mere Exposure Effect, which refers to the fact you are more attracted to and like things more the more you’re exposed to them.
Here’s Kahneman again in Thinking Fast and Slow:
“The famed psychologist Robert Zajonc dedicated much of his career to the study of the link between the repetition of an arbitrary stimulus and the mild affection that people eventually have for it. Zajonc called it the mere exposure effect.”
This is how relationships happen; the more you see someone, the more familiar they become and the more your brain likes them. This, of course, isn’t an explanation of why you fall in love (if such an explanation is even possible). But it’s part of the mechanism that forms initial bonds.
It also explains why you like going to the same restaurants, ordering the same dishes, go for runs on the same trails, and hang out with the same friends. None of this is bad; your brain prefers what’s easy and likes what’s familiar.
HOW YOU WILL USE REPETITION
Here are some ideas to get you started on how you can use repetition to increase your impact:
- Copywriting / Sales — If you want a prospective customer to believe something, repeat it at the beginning, middle, and end of your pitch. Repeat facts about your product/service throughout, too.
- Negotiations — Repeat facts and arguments that support your position. Repeat them even after your counterpart has successfully countered them. Repeat your ask.
- Hacking Yourself — If you’re trying to change your view of your self, create an affirmation and repeat it multiple times a day. You’ll quickly find you come to believe (and act as if) it’s true.
- Try Everything Twice — Go to a new restaurant more than once. Try a new dish twice. Hang out with someone multiple times before deciding if you want them in your life. You’ll probably like it more the second time.
How have you leveraged repetition? How have you seen others use it? Share your expertise in the comments!
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