How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 303

first and last name, you do likewise. Whether you realize it or not, you
accept cues from others regarding their expectations and you act
accordingly. Similarly, we all unknowingly send out our own cues and
expectations. The power is in using the Rule of Expectations consciously!
Numerous studies have shown how the Rule of Expectations dramatically
influences people's performance. For example, in one study, girls who
were told they would perform poorly on a math test did perform poorly. In
another, assembly line workers who were told their job was complex
performed less efficiently at the same task than those who were told it was
simple. Another case study demonstrated that adults who were given
complex mazes solved them faster when told they were based on a gradeschool level of difficulty.
By adding the Rule of Expectations to your persuasive repertoire, you can
change your audience's expectations of you — and their expectation to
buy your product, service or idea — and you will be infinitely more
persuasive.
Most of us have heard about the famous Pavlov dog experiments. Ivan
Pavlov, a physiologist who won a Nobel Prize, trained dogs to salivate at
the sound of a buzzer. The training was effective because the dogs had
learned to expect food when they heard the buzzer — the Rule of
Expectations. The dogs behaved in a certain way because the Rule of
Expectations was at work. Shockingly reminiscent of Pavlov's
experiments, the Rule of Expectations has been used ever since in
advertising to make humans salivate when viewing a commercial or
thinking of a certain brand of food.
[1]John Maxwell and Jim Dornan, Becoming a Person of Influence (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997), p. 64.

Expectations as Assumptions: Expect with Confidence
Often our expectations are based on the assumptions we have about
people or groups of people. The same is true of us. Have you ever noticed
how your expectations become reality in your personal life? Expectation
is literally a self-fulfilling prophecy. We do this consciously and
subconsciously. Remember the kid in grade school who was always really
rowdy and disruptive? Sometimes if people already assume they are
perceived a certain way, then that is indeed exactly how they will act,
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