How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 328

and despised by society, stopped to help him. The Samaritan bound up his
wounds, took him to an inn, and even paid the innkeeper to care for him
until he returned.
Darley and Batson asked seminarians on a one-on-one basis to prepare
and present a short speech on an assigned biblical topic. The test was set
up so that on their way to the location where they would deliver their
speech, each student would cross a man slumped over, coughing and
groaning. Which students would actually stop and help? Before preparing
their speeches, the students filled out a questionnaire asking why they had
chosen to study theology. Then a variety of speech topics were assigned,
including the story of the Good Samaritan. As the students were leaving
to deliver their speeches, some were told, "You'd better hurry. They were
expecting you about three minutes ago." Others were told, "They won't be
ready for a few minutes, but you may as well head over now."
Now, most people would assume that seminarians stating on their
questionnaires that they had chosen to study theology so they could help
people and who were then assigned to speak on the Good Samaritan
would be the ones most likely to stop and help the ailing man on their
way. Interestingly, neither of those two factors seemed to make much of a
difference. In fact, Darley and Batson stated, "Indeed, on several
occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the
Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on his
way." The element that seemed to be most influential was whether or not
the student was rushed. Of the students who were told they were already a
little late, only 10 percent stopped to help. Of the students who were told
they had a little bit more time, 63 percent stopped to help.[15]
We can learn from this example that we can create atmospheres where
people are so involved and feel so much pressure to be sufficiently
involved that they ignore other factors they normally would not ignore.
Hands-on Experience
Another good way to get people involved is to get your product into their
hands. If they can begin to use it, chances are they will continue. That is
why car dealers encourage test drives. You will even see car dealerships
give their loyal customers a car to drive for a few days. How can you go
back to your old car after driving around in a new car? By that point,
neighbors and coworkers have already seen you in the car and have
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