Do you understand the power of giving and receiving? Throughout history humankind has developed by sharing both food and skills. Today, it is just as important for every group of people to work together to reach collective goals. You can still make good use of the age old principle ‘one good turn deserves another’ if you’re making a web video for example. Or if you want to persuade a client of the value or idea behind your video. In this blog we tell you all you need to know about the power of giving and receiving.
Politics
John F. Kennedy said: ‘for of those to whom much is given, much is required’. Referring to the reciprocity in politics. A network of connections that enables the swapping of favours. This can be constructive, but also manipulative. For example, election time, if the business world finances a campaign and later cashes in on that investment by way of all sorts of privileges. Do you sometimes throw a job someone´s way in the hope of getting one back later?
Noblesse oblige
The saying Noblesse oblige (the obligation of nobility) is also based on the principle of reciprocity. We think that the foremost public positions come with special obligations, for instance positions concerning social norms and customs or the fulfilment of a leadership role. In a broader sense: someone who occupies a privileged position thanks to origin, money or talent, has a responsibility to do something good with it and to behave accordingly. Thus, in the creative industry we have a moral obligation to train young talent. The video below combines the themes of politics and care of the young well.
Under the motto: “the country belongs to whoever shows up” young people were encouraged to turn out to vote.
Medicine
A sector that from time in memorial has been known for the use of reciprocity is the pharmaceutical industry. In return for favourable test results and the prescribing of new medications, luxury trips abroad and research grants are distributed freely. Reciprocity with the aftertaste of some nasty medicine…
Talking of medicine. You know the massive Ikea stores where, after walking for miles, you can finally plod into the line for the cashier? Well, it’s not for nothing that the cheap hotdogs and ice cream are available after you´ve made your purchases. In this way, just before you leave, after all that walking and the long wait in the queue, you still take a positive impression home with you. Tasty! And how good of Ikea that they offer this food for such a bargain price..
In the long run
After the devastating Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the city received direct help from The Netherlands. Our country has an awful lot of professional knowledge concerning drainage and water management. But that was not the only reason. In 1953, Louisiana sent army helicopters to our country, to help the victims of The Great Flood. In this way The Netherlands was able to ‘pay back’ her debt in kind. Sometimes, if can take a while before you get something in return…
Reflex
Over and over again reciprocity appears to be a powerful instrument of influence. You can use this ‘strategical generosity’ in countless different ways. It doesn’t even matter whether people find you, the sender of a message, sympathetic or not. All that matters is the almost automatic reflex that people have: if we receive something then we have to give something back. Like the World Wildlife Fund for instance, who send a calendar and other goodies in the post. How nice, I think I’ll stay a member a little longer. Or, of course, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, that put you in a prize draw for a packet of biscuits or a tub of ice cream. Literally, sweeteners, but they work.
We feel ourselves obligated if we are unable to return the favour and are scared of being seen as antisocial or egotistical. Deeply entrenched ideas of fairness and duty are activated by the principle of reciprocity. In fact we often end up offering a bigger favour than we received ourselves. How may you be able to utilise that?
Premiums
At the small scale we come face to face with the law of reciprocity on a near daily basis. Take the market for premiums, membership benefits and Christmas hampers. Millions go into those. And the free sample is not only a way to let your target audience experience the quality of a product. It is also a little present, whereby the law of reciprocity is put into action. You’ve been aware of it for a long time now, surely? With the blogs, e-books and videos in which we share our knowledge and sources of inspiration with you, we’re hoping for something in return in the end. The basis of reciprocity though is that ultimately it remains a ‘no strings attached’ invitation to give back.
You can never demand something in return. The principle of reciprocity puts you in a position to initiate a relationship, and nothing more. This goes for the free newspaper that you get from sales reps on the street. You feel subconsciously as if you must do something in return. Ah, sure, I’ll take out a subscription!
Research
There has been an endless amount of research into the law of reciprocity. For example, with waiters who gave away sweets. If they gave one sweet with the bill, they received a 3.3% higher tip. With 2 sweets, that went up to 14%. The tip went up a little more if the waiter first gave 1 sweetie with the bill, and then came back with more, because they so valued these special guests. A simple way to measure the power of giving back.
A test in a sweet shop indicated that if someone stood by the door and shared out a bar of chocolate, sales went up by 42%. And not only chocolate, but all sorts of candy. You can see immediately why you ́re allowed to taste so many things at some congresses.
Even the American arm of the Hare Krishna movement used the law of reciprocity back in the 60’s. Initially members went singing and dancing through the streets, asking for donations along the way. When they then began dealing out flowers, the size of the donations went up enormously and the movement grew immensely in size. Until people sussed the trick out and spontaneously began to refuse the flowers. Reciprocity then, is a principle with which you need to be inventive. Always make sure that your gift is meaningful, surprising and personal. That should be relatively easy if you work in the creative industries, no?
Concessions
Besides service and reciprocal service this principle also works in the making of concessions. Imagine, someone wants to sell you a ticket to a show and you refuse because you don’t have time, or you ́re not interested. By way of a concession the seller offers to sell you a chocolate bar, the proceeds of which help support the relevant theatre group. The ticket seller has made you a concession and you now feel more or less obliged to go along with it.
In this example it was genuinely the idea to sell you tickets to the show. But, you can also use the concession-principle as a hop-skip-jump method to achieving your goal. So, you first make an offer which you ́re already pretty sure will be refused, only to follow up with your ́concession’ which makes sure that the other person makes a concession too.
This principle has also been researched in practice. For instance, when asking people to coach juvenile offenders every week for a year. That request, more often than not, was refused. Asking thereafter whether people would perhaps consider an afternoon at the zoo with these young offenders, and the request was mostly agreed to.
The principle works when negotiating job contracts too. Demand a lot of candidates and then trim those demands back if the candidate is prepared to reduce their salary expectations.
A very well known example is, of course, haggling: first ask for a high price, then consider a concession for a lower one.
A side effect of making a concession is that mostly people feel responsible to make good on their promise. People also get more satisfaction from a deal where both sides have made concessions. And, a third consequence is folks who have agreed to a concession are also more likely to agree to a follow up request.
Contrast principle
The concession – or ‘from large to small’ principle – sets something else off too: the contrast principle. That is, that if a small suggestion is made to you, after something larger has been suggested, the smaller thing is judged differently than if it had been suggested without the larger one.
This too has been researched. Men spend more money on a sweater after first buying a suit. After the higher price of the suit the lower price of the sweater seems more acceptable, when in fact by comparison to other sweaters that may not be the case at all.
Online
On websites you often see 3 varieties of a product or service next to each other. Why is that? Well, because here too the contrast principle is being used. An expensive, moderate and cheap offer. The price of the middling offer seems reasonable in comparison to the more expensive one. Also, as it is often posted with the term ‘most popular’ alongside, the principle of social proof works here as well. So what do you want to sell? Put that product or service in the middle. Add a more expensive and a cheaper variant alongside. People will now be inclined to opt for the middle option…
Get to work!
Take these with you as you set to work on your next web video, radio ad or e-learning: the principles of reciprocity, concession and contrast. There’s a good chance that it will make your idea more persuasive!
Want more to read? Find all of our ebooks here:
52 tips for writing persuasive voice over scripts
15 practical tips – The do’s and don’ts of in-house production
23 tips: here’s how to increase your submission’s chance of a film festival win
What to look for in a voice over who works remotely – A practical checklist for working with a voice actor online
E-Learning courses with impact – 20 practical tips for creating an effective e-learning course
About this series
The blog series ‘Positive Influence’ from Voicebooking concerns the psychology of persuasion. The goal is to attract and persuade your readers, viewers and listeners, not to manipulate or mislead them. The blog series is based in part on the six fundamental principles of persuasion as researched by Robert Cialdini, the former Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and Stanford University, among other sources.
