How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Complexity

Techniques > General persuasion > Creating Cognitive Load > Complexity

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Tax their brains with complicated language. Use long sentences, technical jargon, compound phrases, figures of speech and other devices to make it harder to work out what you are really saying. Do not use one word when five longer words will do.

It does not have to make sense as long as it sounds plausible (though be careful of experts in the room). Just tie up their minds then slip in the real message.

Example

The ontological persistence is of course illusory, yet Freudian mores continue to exert undue influence, perhaps in part due to the momentum of influential proponents within the canon, although non-essential deconstructionist reductionism could be considered as an alternative influence. So what you have to remember is this: we can never fully know ourselves. 

Discussion

In all languages and particularly English, there are many s ways to say the same thing, with a wide range of potential complexity within sentence and paragraph structure.

When we listen to other people talking it takes mental effort to work out what the speaker is really saying. The more complex the language usage, the harder it is to understand them.

Complex language is often used to impress others and assert authority. It is also used used by people who charge a lot of money for those services.

A long speech full of complexity, especially if delivered in a monotone, is likely to send your audience to sleep, or even into a hypnotic trance where suggestibility is heightened.

See also

Difficult Decisions