The Dilution Effect - The counterintuitive way to be more persuasive
Here's the conclusion:
What do you think?Going beyond shopping expeditions, going beyond the evaluation of the scholastic aptitude of others, and beyond evaluating risk in our environment, what this body of research tells us is that in the world of communicating for the purposes of influence, quality trumps quantity. By increasing the number of arguments, you do not strengthen your case, but rather you actively weaken it. Put another way, you cannot increase the quality of an argument by simply increasing the quantity of your argument. The next time you want to speak up in a meeting, speak in favor of a government legislation that you're deeply passionate about, or simply want to help a friend see the world through a different lens, it is important to note that the delivery of your message is every bit as important as its content.
Stick to your strong arguments, because your arguments don't add up in the minds of the receiver, they average out.
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