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

Novelty

Techniques > General persuasion > Creating Cognitive Load > Novelty

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Talk about something that is new and unfamiliar to them. Make it about something they want to understand but may struggle with elements of it. A typical example is new technology, in which there is plenty of innovation and jargon.

You can also engage them in conversation about the novel item, asking questions to check they understand and encouraging questions they have for you.

Example

There's a new investment instrument based on recursive descent revisions. It could double your returns but needs to be used only in parallel with de-risking filters.

Hey, look at this new phone. There's a lot of really new features on it.

Our retail expansion plan includes multiple restructuring of outlet architecture for customer flow into distinctively themed zones of exponentially graduated desirability. 

Discussion

Most of what we encounter is familiar, which makes it easy to process. Things which are new to us cannot be processed as rapidly and need more active, conscious thought to understand them.

New things will also gain more conscious attention when they are considered interesting, for example when they are fashionable or may help the person achieve their personal goals. Almost by definition, new things are scarce and may hence be attractive for the exclusive benefits they could offer.

Complex things are often only complex because we do not fully understand them. Anything new can hence be seen as complicated, although some new things are more complex than others. Adding complexity to novelty hence adds to cognitive effort.

See also

Creativity