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This page was translated from the German original, partly by machine. Some passages may read awkwardly or contain inaccuracies. When in doubt, please read the original.

Persuading and Convincing

Real-life examples​

Persuading meets us daily in numerous situations: the friend who wants to persuade us to visit a restaurant; the salesperson who wants to convince us of a more expensive product; the colleague who advocates his project idea; the politician who canvasses for votes in the election campaign; parents who want to get their children to tidy up; a doctor who must convince a sceptical patient of a treatment; the lawyer who wants to convince a court of his client's innocence; or the teacher who wants to inspire pupils for a difficult subject.

What it aims at​

The language game of persuading aims at eliciting an agreement, decision or action in others that they would not, or would differently, have made without the attempt at persuasion. Unlike pure explaining or informing, the foreground is not the conveying of knowledge but the changing of attitudes, convictions or behaviour. It is an acting upon the will and judgement of others, usually through a combination of factual arguments, emotional appeals and social incentives.

Success criteria​

An attempt at persuasion counts as successful when:

  • The person addressed changes their opinion or stance in the desired direction
  • The desired decision or action is actually carried out
  • The persuaded person holds the new position not merely superficially but with inner conviction
  • The persuasion manages without coercion or manipulation and instead works through genuine convincing
  • The desired behaviour is maintained in the long term, not just short term
  • The relationship between those involved remains intact or is even strengthened

The quality of a persuasion differs according to ethical standard: while manipulative persuasion aims at short-term success, ethically demanding convincing strives for a rational insight on the part of the other.

How it can go wrong​

Persuading can fail in various ways:

  • The arguments or incentives put forward are not relevant or convincing for the addressee
  • The other sees through manipulative intentions and reacts with resistance
  • The persuader seems untrustworthy or unlikeable
  • The chosen strategy (too aggressive, too reserved) does not fit the personality of the other
  • Too much pressure produces reactance instead of agreement
  • The timing is unfavourable (e.g. when the other is stressed or distracted)
  • The other has too firmly established counter-convictions that are not taken into account

It becomes especially problematic when the attempt at persuasion is perceived as manipulation or paternalism and thereby destroys trust in the long term.

How it is abused​

Persuading can be deployed in a problematic way:

  • Through deliberate deception about facts or consequences
  • Through emotional manipulation such as fear-mongering or guilt
  • Through the use of psychological tricks such as artificial scarcity or social proof
  • Through exploiting cognitive biases or situational weaknesses
  • Through pressure or implicit threats ("If you don't..., then...")
  • Through clever rhetorical manoeuvres that disguise logical fallacies
  • Through exploiting imbalances of power or knowledge

Especially in advertising, politics and certain sales techniques, ethically questionable persuasion methods are found that rely more on manipulation than on rational conviction.

Social role​

Persuading fulfils important social functions:

  • It enables consensus-building and collective decision-making
  • It serves the mobilization for joint action and social projects
  • It can promote positive behaviour changes (health behaviour, environmental protection)
  • It is a central element of democratic opinion-formation and political processes
  • It is indispensable for social coordination and the management of group behaviour
  • It can help in overcoming harmful habits or prejudices

The ability to convince others is a core competence in many professions and social roles. At the same time, the fine line between legitimate persuasion work and manipulative influence is a constant ethical challenge. In democratic societies, developing resistance to manipulative attempts at persuasion is just as important as the competence for argumentative convincing.