I read an opinion piece in The Guardian recently.

(I know, I know… when will I ever learn!?)

It was by an American legal scholar named Cass Sunstein.

This was the headline:

‘Why we need a right not to be manipulated’

In the piece, Sunstein writes that “companies are taking our time and money not by defrauding or deceiving us, but by practising the dark art of manipulation.”

“Manipulators are tricksters,” he opines “They divert the eye and take advantage of people’s weaknesses. Often they exploit simple ignorance. They fail to respect, and try to undermine, people’s capacity to make reflective and deliberative choices.”

And he gives some examples, too…

“A manipulator might convince you to buy a useless health product, not by lying, but by appealing to your emotions, and by painting seductive pictures of how great you will feel once you use the product.”

This made me laugh out loud, because this is EXCELLENT copywriting advice that I regularly pass on to trainees and clients.

Anyway, Sunstein’s proposition is to establish a ‘right not to be manipulated’, enshrined in law.

It’s all very right-on!

But how that could be enforced, I cannot imagine.

• A hairdresser arrested for telling a walk-in that a bob cut would really suit her face shape.
• A cookbook author fined for using food stylists to make the photos of their meals more alluring.
• A yoga instructor banned for telling a prospective client how good their mind and body will feel in a year’s time.
• An Etsy seller taken to court for describing her handmade necklace as “the perfect gift to give your wife on Valentine’s Day”.
• A business book author censored for including this sentence in the blurb: “If I can do it, you can too.”

Or perhaps we could go even further?

BAN ALL PERSUASION!

Perhaps manipulation of ANY kind should be banned…

You could take your husband to court for promising the ‘best holiday ever’ when it was nothing of the sort.

(How dare they paint a positive picture of a future event!)

Or sue your wife for suggesting you give up cheese and cake because of how much healthier you’d be if you lost a few pounds.

(How dare they suggest how great you’d feel if you followed their advice!)

Or perhaps call the police when your friend suggests that if you join them at the pub, you’ll have such a great time you’ll shed all your worries for the evening.

(How dare they appeal to your emotions!)

I know I’m pushing this to extremes here, and this isn’t what Sunstein is proposing…

But my point is this…

We manipulate others all the time.

And not solely for devious or dark reasons.

But because most communication is an attempt to influence another person to think in a certain way, understand your point of view, or act on something.

It’s us BEING HUMAN.

The Human Nature of Persuasion

The premise of Sunstein’s argument rests on the idea that we, as humans, are somehow perfectly rational, objective agents.

In his view, ‘manipulation’ is an external force, imposed upon us, like a puppeteer yanking our strings without consent.

But humans are not logic machines.

Every second of every day, we are each inescapably ensnared in a web of subjective perceptions.

We don’t see the world ‘as it is’ but through bias and selection, picking what matters and discarding the rest.

Stimuli come in through our senses and our brain organises this into patterns that make sense to us, and which have meaning, purpose and significance.

So we have evolved to experience the world through stories.

Everything we think is shaped by our history, our culture, our mood, our memories, and our expectations of what’s going to happen in the future.

And everything we say is biased.

You simply CANNOT escape it.

When we want to motivate others to act, we use emotive storytelling in order to get them to understand the reasons why.

These include painting pictures… describing future scenarios… suggesting benefits… and alluding to positive or negative outcomes…

That applies when you’re trying to convince a reluctant mate to join you at the gym…. telling a fussy child to eat broccoli… or asking someone out on a date.

And it also applies when you want somebody to try out a service or product you have created.

You need to somehow clarify why it meets a need that they have, whether that’s to solve a problem or reach a goal.

If you have a product that can genuinely help someone, wouldn’t it be a shame for them to miss out because they didn’t truly understand the benefits?

In his Guardian article, Sunstein criticises the way a business “might tell you an anecdote about someone just like you, who used a supposed pain-relief product and felt better within 12 hours.”

But anecdotes are part of human communication.

Imagine a stand-up comedy act, wedding speech or interview without anecdotes!

They become flat and unconvincing if they don’t use relatable personal experiences and real examples.

Same for selling a product…

Anecdotes are not a devious marketing trick.

Your customer will WANT to see some ‘social proof’ – evidence that other people have used a product and benefited from it.

That means real stories, testimonials or case studies.

However, in Sunstein’s view, the only thing you should be able to do is list some facts – for example, statistics, dimensions, ingredients and materials.

• But then what about the way the list is ordered?
• What about the selection of certain facts and omission of others?
• What about the colours and fonts used in marketing or packaging?
• What about the magazine, newsletter or TV station on which the advertising appeared?
• What about the tone of voice or clothing of the person doing the selling?

All these factors are ALSO persuasive and, therefore, manipulative.

So here’s my take….

A Case for Ethical Persuasion

I agree with Sunstein that you should never trick anyone by lying, hiding caveats in the small print, or hitting them with unexpected costs.

Neither should you sell a product that you don’t believe in, which you know to be fraudulent, defective or useless.

However, used responsibly for a product you genuinely believe can benefit others, persuasion is a good thing.

When you tell a story about a product… emphasise the real world outcomes… then provide testimonials and other forms of ‘social proof’… you’re actually helping people make better decisions.

The idea that we should somehow strip all our business communications of essential humanity is neither realistic nor desirable!

What do you think? I’d love to know your take on this!