Have you ever run five miles? That’s not easy to do if you’re not in shape. How about this — have you ever walked five miles? That’s not as hard as running but can be taxing depending on your fitness level. Do you think it would be more tiring to walk in 70, 80, or maybe 90 degree weather? Throw on top of that playing a round of golf over four hours and it would be pretty tiring for just about anyone.
In 2001, golfer Casey Martin challenged the PGA Tour rule that prohibited golfers from using a cart on the tour. His challenge arose because of a rare blood disorder that caused circulation problems in his legs. Part of the PGA contention was that walking causes fatigue and is therefore an intrinsic part of the game. Casey Marti’s legal team disagreed. From The PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin Supreme Court case in 2001:
“The District Court credited the testimony of a professor in physiology and expert on fatigue, who calculated the calories expended in walking a golf course (about five miles) to be approximately 500 calories ‘nutritionally … less than a Big Mac.’”
Walking the golf course burns fewer calories than a Big Mac? All of a sudden it doesn’t seem like such a monumental activity. Think about this for a moment; if Casey Martin’s legal team had simply cited 500 calories, the point would not have been as impacting. I’m sure everyone on the court could visualize a Big Mac. Martin eventually won the case.
Sometimes the right comparison can make all the difference when it comes to persuasion. Just using numbers doesn’t always work because they don’t always register for many people. Here are two more great examples of effective comparison points that led to change.
In Chip and Dan Heath’s best selling book Made to Stick, a story is shared about how unhealthy a medium-sized buttered popcorn was in the mid ‘90s. Trying to persuade movie theaters to change was going nowhere despite the fact that the popcorn had 37 grams of unsaturated fat. It didn’t register just how unhealthy that was until it was eventually pointed out how buttered popcorn compared to other foods. Did you know you’d get that much unsaturated fat (37 grams) if you ate bacon and eggs for breakfast, a Big Mac with large fries and Coke for lunch, and then had a steak and loaded potato for dinner…all in the same day! None of those meals is healthy but eating all three the same day with any consistency would eventually lead to obesity. That’s how much fat those who ate the medium-sized buttered popcorn were getting in the mid-90s. Thankfully theaters eventually changed their ways.
McDonald’s coffee case is noted in WilliamPoundstone’s book Priceless. You may recall an elderly woman severely burned herself when she spilled a piping hot cup of McDonald’s coffee on her lap. It led to an eight-day hospital stay for the 79 year-old woman. She won a $2.86 million dollar settlement. While that may seem outrageous, it only came after McDonald’s refused to settle for $20,000. Her lawyer took it to trial and didn’t ask for nearly $3 million. Instead he asked for one or two days of McDonald’s revenue from the sale of coffee. That doesn’t sound so bad except revenue was $1.35 million per day!
One last example came from the late Steve Jobs. He introduced the first iPod, which he pulled out from the front pocket of his jeans, saying, “A thousand songs in you pocket.” Wow, that amounted to more songs than most people had in their entire CD collections! I doubt Jobs would have been nearly as effective if he’d have said, “10 gigabytes in your pocket.” Even techies wouldn’t be as moved by that as they were when he announced 1,000 songs.
Next time you’re going to attempt to persuade someone, or a group of people, think about the comparisons you would normally make. Then take a moment to consider other possible comparisons that are naturally available. It could be calories versus real food, money or objects money can buy, or songs versus gigabytes. Put the comparison in terms most people can grasp and you’ll have a much better chance for persuasion success.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT®
Chief Influence Officer
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Phishing email scams are more effective than you may think. Read our infographic Don’t Let Phishing Emails Hook Your Employees.
By: Brand BarneyWhen you think of social engineering, you may think of someone walking into your business and stealing data from servers, computers, etc. But companies aren’t just getting socially engineered in person; it’s happening online too. Many employees fall victim to phishing email scans, which can lead to potential data breaches and loss of important information.What is a phishing scam?
TweetWe’re trustingWe’d like to believe the people emailing us are genuine. It’s human nature to want to trust others, especially those that reach out to us. Unfortunately, social engineers take advantage of that and use it to steal from companies.Good phishing emails look officialSome emails can recreate a company logo and make the email look convincing. Just like a social engineer in person looks like they belong in your company, phishing emails look like they are part of the company contacting you.Follow for more data security articles like thisThey prey on our fearWhen we’re scared, we tend to not act logically. Some phishing emails take advantage of that, using scare tactics to cause us to make an impulsive decision. For example, you may receive an email stating that you have had a breach of your personal banking information, and you need to click on a link to log in and change your online banking password. The attacker is banking (pun intended) that you will want to quickly protect yourself or check your online balance to ensure you still have money after the “breach.”SEE ALSO: 7 Ways to Recognize a Phishing EmailHow do you combat phishing email scams?Be skeptical: Always verify everything with the company you are working with, especially if it involves sensitive information. If a banking institution emails you, asking for credit card information, call them from their business phone to verify. Avoid giving important data over email when possible.Train employees: Make sure your employees are aware of phishing emails and what to do if they suspect they’re receiving one. Hold quarterly training meetings, if not monthly.Have policies: Establish procedures employees should follow should they receive a phishing email or anything that seems suspicious. This could include how to verify if an email is legitimate, who to notify, and how to deal with such an email.Let us help you train your employees against phishing!Phishing is easier than you thinkPhishing email scams are more of a danger than many companies realize. And it doesn’t take a particularly skilled attacker to create a successful phishing campaign.Similar to social engineering, phishing targets the company’s weakest link in security: the employees. An untrained employee can inadvertently cause a lot of damage to their company if they fall victim to a phishing campaign.Remember, when it comes to emails, be smart and be careful with sharing your data.Brand Barney (CISSP, HCISPP, QSA) is a Security Analyst at SecurityMetrics, has over 10 years of data security experience, and will totally geek out if you mention Doctor Who. Brand loves to play jazz piano and daydreams about being as great as Dave Brubeck or Thelonious Monk. Connect with him on Twitter or check out his other blog posts.Want to learn more about spotting phishers? Check out the infographic below!