Exploring how we think - how we receive and process information - offers clues for how to write in a compelling and persuasive way. We’ve looked at the works of two theorists. Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist and winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology. His book – ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ – which he published in 2011 aims to explain how we think. Richard Boyatzis is an American organizational theorist and professor of organizational behavior at Case Western Reserve University, and expert in the field of emotional intelligence, behavior change, and competence.

1. Persuasive writing
Some tips from psychology and social theory
Claire Atherton and Octavia Wolton

2. What can learn from Daniel Kahneman
‘Thinking fast and slow’ in a nutshell
As the title suggests, Daniel Kahneman breaks down thinking into two
systems.

‘System 1’: fast thinking – (Instinct). Automatic and unconscious. System 1 surveys the
environment and processes incoming stimuli at speed. It feeds information in the form of
impressions and suggestions to…

‘System 2’: slow thinking – (Thought). Deliberate and conscious. System 2 relates to
active consideration, deduction, deliberation and calculation. We use System 2 when we
consider what we want to have for dinner tonight, or when we perform a mathematical
calculation.
Implications: the writer can harness the short-cuts, preferences and
biases of system 1 to influence the reader and their system 2!
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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3. Key takeaway: cognitive ease and strain
Constant assessments are carried out
automatically by system 1 and one of their
functions is to determine whether extra effort is
required from system 2.
You experience ‘cognitive ease’ when things are
going well – no threats, no major news, no need
to redirect attention or mobilise effort. ‘Strain’
indicates that a problem exists which needs
more attention from system 2: ie. consideration
and analysis.

4. Key takeaway: cognitive ‘ease’
and ‘strain’
Use cognitive ease to work in your favour, minimise strain by:

Boosting legibility – which of the statements below is true?
Adolf Hitler was born in 1892
Adolf Hitler was born in 1887.
(Actually neither! But the first appears to carry more clarity and authority.)

Using simple language.
‘If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language
where simple language will do’
Daniel Kahneman: ‘Danny Oppenheimer: ‘Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized
Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly’.

Make your copy more memorable
Alliteration: repetition of a consonant in the first syllables of a series of words.
Repetition of particular words, when used with care will create impact
Break up copy with bullets (three is the magic number!) and subheads.
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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5. Key takeaway: people fear loss more
than they value gain
Kahneman identifies what he calls ‘loss aversion’ and he uses gambling
to explain it.

You’re offered a gamble on the toss of a coin.
One coin shows tails, you lose $100.
If the coin shows heads, you win $150.
Is this gamble attractive?

Loss aversion has other consequences. Threats are privileged over opportunities.
Frightening or negative imagery is processed more quickly.
Bad words (war, hate, vomit) attract attention faster than good ones.
Bad trumps good: a cockroach will ruin the appeal of a bowl of cherries but a cherry won’t
have the same affect on a bowl of cockroaches!
Golf players are more successful when putting for par than for a birdie.
Build a ‘burning platform’
Bearing this in mind, when writing your story ask yourself the question: ‘Why should the
reader care about what you’re saying?’ What might be the cost of their not following your
recommendations? State these consequences early on in your piece.
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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6. Building resonant relationships
in a nutshell
Three key points from Richard Boyatzis’s session at Hay Group’s
international conference:
1.
Great leaders move us through two things: resonance with others, and emotions
2.
Emotion is the carrier wave of great leadership. We get convinced of things through
emotional arguments, then we use rational ones to make ourselves feel better
3.
Resonance (being in tune with others) comes from creating a sense of purpose, building
trust and being authentic.
Plus, the power of positive emotional attractors in bringing about change

Change often fails because people use negative, not positive, attractors (eg “You need
to lose weight”)

Sustained, desired change always starts in the positive emotional attractor – a possibility

We need both positive (PEA) and negative (NEA) emotional attractors – the positive to thrive
and the negative to survive. But because the NEAs are stronger, we need to over-sample
them
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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7. What does all this mean for the way we
sound as a brand – our tone of voice?
How can we make our sure our writing reflects our commitment to our
clients and their business: our humanity and ‘empathy’.
1
Put yourself in your reader’s shoes
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2
Be human
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3
Paint a positive picture – what’s in it for them? Benefits, not features. But remember,
we need PEAs too: if we’re too positive we’ll sound false and salesy
People fear loss more than gain – so give them lots of (free) advice, and be clear
about the cost to them of not taking it
Make it easier for them: put your main point first, make the text more digestible
(and legible), put subheadings in bold, use bulleted lists
Write more like you speak – ditch the jargon and formal or pretentious language
Verbs, not nouns; active, not passive; ‘we’/‘I do’ as much as ‘Hay Group is’/‘does’
Tell a human story; use metaphors
Be memorable

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Have an opinion – and surprise people!
Have fun with language: don’t need to be a poet to use repetition, alliteration,
one-word sentences, metaphors, similes and rhythms
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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8. Exercise
Here’s a piece of content we’d like you to rewrite.

To give you some context, it’s from a booklet called ‘Building strategic HR fit for today
and fit for the future’. It’s point 5 of a list of six things you can do to build strategic HR
5. Ensure pragmatic, sustainable implementation
Delivering pragmatically and sustainably means acceptance of constant
change, and recognition that adapting quickly is key to organisational
agility and competitive advantage. This necessitates incorporating
‘future proofing’ into the design of discrete, stand alone solutions, and
understanding the interdependence across key HR activities and
processes for larger scale programmes to maximise value.
© 2010 Hay Group. All rights reserved
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