Power of Persuasion

### Cold Open

"Persuasion is one of the most powerful tools your brain uses to get what you want. But it's also a tool used by advertisers, marketers, and politicians every day to persuade you to do what they want. There's a method to all this madness. For the next half-hour, we're gonna show you the science behind the power of persuasion. Your brain makes literally thousands of decisions per minute. Many beneath your conscious thought. Now, persuasion through marketing in media is a 500 billion dollar a year industry. Scientists and marketers know if they can tap into your unconscious channels, they have a much better chance of selling you their product. So, in a sense, they're not really marketing to you, they're marketing to your brain. If you don't believe me, I bet we can persuade you otherwise."

## Games

### Game #1: Count the \_\_\_\_\_

Count the number of ducks you see.

Result: If you said, 10, you're right. But were they rabbits instead? They could be seen as either one.

So: We were able to convince your brain.

How: Using priming, a subtle cue that influence attitudes and responses without you noticing. It's a way to bypass your brain's conscious decision-making process to work on your subconscious. If we say it, you believe it.

### Game #2: Get Primed

Do you see a man's face in a mask?

Result: Yes, there is a face.

Now, look at the same image again. Do you see a kissing couple?

Result: If you do, you were primed.

How: By priming you, we made your brain see something different. Priming is such a powerful tool because your brain is always looking for shortcuts. Deciding quickly leaves energy for other things. The Prefrontal cortex is responsible for conscious thinking, and priming slows activity down in this area. Your brain gives up conscious control over decisions. There's a reason the color red drives you to act. A bold font or slogan can do well. Everything is steering you towards something.

### Game #3: Lucky Number

Pick your lucky number(Three to Twelve) Then play a game with apollo to make sure jason stays up.

Result: You win the game.

How: Apollo used a mathematical formula to get you to Jason's box. What is it? Well, you'll have to figure that out. Your brain is also constantly analyzing visual cues about where to go and who to trust.

### Game #4: Expert Fallacy Test

Will people fall for the expert fallacy(Trust based on what someone's wearing) Can a reporter get people to believe him?

Result: An outstanding yes.

Why: Your default setting is trust. You go along with authority and what everyone else is doing because that what's evolution has conditioned us to be and that increases odds of survival. When you fall for the expert fallacy, it's not because your dumb or naive. Before you even consider the crazy information, your brain tries to streamline it's workflow.

### Game #5: Face the Persuasion

Pick an election winner from faces.

Result: You probably picked most of the winners.

Why: Based on nothing but their faces, we can predict election winners based on faces 70% of the time. But the reason you picked them is because people who look more trustworthy and competent often get picked.

### Game #6: Take Control

Decide which job candidate to hire.

Result: Number 1 is picked.

Why: The first information you hear often stands out from the rest. This is knows as the primacy effect. Despite using the same words, the order matters and makes all the difference. You want to put your best foot forward because after the first word or two, your brain wants to take a shortcut. So that's why number 1 won.

### Game #7: Gotcha

What does apollo want to drink

Result: Milk

Why: Because we hid it throughout the episode.

## List of Experts

* Josh Ackerman
* Apollo Robins(Deception Specialist)
* Jay Painter(Comedian)
* Alex Todorov