Persuasion and Influence – the Remarkable Law of Expectation

This article reveals a powerful law in the realm of persuasion and influence – the law of expectation.

When you expect someone to do what you want, and that person treats you with respect or admires/looks up to you, you have already increased your chances of success higher.

The magic word here is "expect". You expect your child to get high grades in school and he will get high grades. You tell your son that he's a bright student, you really expect that to happen, and your son will meet or exceed your expectations.

Why is this persuasion and influence principle so effective?

We aim to meet, if not exceed, others' expectations of us, especially if we stand to gain benefits like getting rewards, earning trust, or being regarded highly.

There have been cases where the law of expectation has produced miraculous results.

Take the case of some cancer patients who were given placebo pills. These are just plain pills that have no healing capabilities. So how did they get well?

They were told that these pills contain tremendous amounts of cancer-busting ingredients that can effectively heal their sickness quickly. They believed and “expected” to be cured, and so that’s what happened. The power of the subconscious mind is truly extraordinary.

They say that people act or behave according to how you treat them. When we assign a person certain positive qualities or attributes, that person will allow us to believe that what we said is true.

So if you treat, let's say, an average student as a genius, and tell him that his performance exhibits that of a highly intellectual person, he will allow us to believe it and indeed become a very smart person. Try it; you'll be tremendously surprised.

If you're a parent, assign positive qualities to your children, even if they don't have those qualities yet. Tell them they're smart, and they will indeed become smart. That's the power of persuasion and influence.

We can use this to our advantage by adding certain words such as "You probably already know" or "You probably realize" in our statements. This is powerful because you are assuming yet unconsciously suggesting at the same time.

Example:
"You probably already know that this is the best deal you can ever find."

Some people assume that they are being perceived in a particular way, and they will act according to their own perceptions.

An employee, who assumes that his co-workers perceive him as incompetent, will probably be unable to fulfill his job well. On the contrary, if that employee thinks that others are praising him for his good work, he will probably produce good results with his job.

This persuasion and influence phenomenon has a lot to do with their beliefs. What you believe will happen, can actually manifest into reality.