How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 339

Repeating and Repackaging
The more you expose someone to a particular concept or idea, the more
that concept or idea will become favorable to them. Things do grow on us.
Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you didn't like until it started
to grow on you? This is also true with people. You may not like some
people at first, but after awhile you grow to like them, and sometimes you
even become their friend. Ever wonder why politicians want signs and
posters with their names and faces all over everyone's yards, street
corners, bumpers, and windows? The use of repetition can be very
effective. It is often said that repetition is the mother of all learning, but it
is also the mother of effective persuasion. Repetition increases awareness,
understanding, and retention.
You have to be careful to use repetition wisely, however. My motto is,
"Repackage; Don't Repeat." This means you can use the power of
repetition, but you don't always have to say the words exactly the same
way. You can make the same point with a story, a fact, a statistic, an
analogy, or a testimony and never have to repeat yourself. You know how
you feel when you hear the exact same joke for the second or even third
time — it doesn't carry the same punch as it did the first time, so you
usually tune out.
Even when repackaging, keep it to no more than three times. If you
present your message less than three times, it will not have a very strong
effect. If you present your message more than three times, it becomes
"worn out" and loses its potency. For example, in a study where children
were shown the same ice cream commercial over and over while watching
a cartoon, the children who saw the commercial three times actually
wanted the ice cream more than those who had seen the commercial five
times.[21] In another study, students were told they were to judge the
sound quality of audiocassettes. What the researchers were really
searching for, however, was the varying responses after having heard the
recorded message one, three, or five times. The message discussed
support of an increase in university spending via visitor luxury tax or
increased student tuition. Students actually favored the argument for the
luxury tax with up to three repetitions, but at five repetitions, their favor
for this argument declined.[22]
Another aspect of repetition is persistence. If you have ever been in sales,
you know that the most successful salespeople are the most persistent;
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