Those of us with the gift of gab can tip our hats to the researchers Stec and Bernstein (1999) for their contribution to the world of consumer persuasion: the length-implies-strength heuristic. The principle says in effect that the more you have to say, the more likely it is you’ll be believed.

Everyone knows that students dislike tests. In a 1987 study conducted by the social psychologist Shelly Chaiken, a group of students were asked to memorize eight phrases relating to the idea that more is somehow better, or the more the merrier. They were then exposed to two speakers who argued that more testing is good for them. One speaker ...

Get BrainScripts for Sales Success: 21 Hidden Principles of Consumer Psychology for Winning New Customers now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.