How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 341

[21]G. Gorn and M. Goldberg, "Children's Responses to Repetitive TV
Commercials," Journal of Consumer Research (1980): 421–425.
[22]R. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo, "Effects of Forewarning of Persuasive Intent
and Involvement on Cognitive Responses and Persuasion," Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin (1979):173–176.

Building Suspense and Distraction
The element of mystery can be effectively employed to involve your
audience. We are all naturally curious about the unknown. When we feel
we've been left hanging, it drives us crazy! We want to know the end of
the story. We want our tasks to be completed so we can check them off
our list. This is also known as the "Zeigarnik Effect," named after Bluma
Zeigarnik, a Russian psychologist. This effect is the tendency we have to
remember uncompleted thoughts, ideas, or tasks more than completed
ones.
We see the Zeigarnik Effect on the television news and other programs.
Right before a commercial break, the newscasters announce some
interesting tidbit that will come later in the hour. This piques your interest
and, rather than flipping the channel, you stay tuned. Movies and dramas
on television also leave you hanging in suspense. By leaving something
uncompleted right before the commercial break, the programs draw our
attention, keep us involved, and motivate us to continue watching. We
don't feel satisfaction until we receive finality, closure, or resolution to the
message, our goals, or any aspect of our life.
You also see the Zeigarnik Effect in the courtroom. We already know that
people feel more confident and impressed with information they discover
for themselves over time. This dictates that persuaders slowly dispel
information, rather than dumping large volumes of information all at
once. A good lawyer does not disclose everything he knows about the
case or the plaintiff during his opening statement. As the trial progresses,
the jury can fill in the blanks for themselves with the additional
information they gradually receive. This works much better than dumping
all the information on them in the beginning. It holds the jurors' attention
longer and gives the message more validity. The jury discovers the
answers for themselves, and is more likely to arrive at the desired
conclusion.
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