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Superstition As Persuasion 

When a person sneezes, we say 'God bless you'. That's a superstition. It started in the Middle Ages when it was thought that the devil could enter a person when unguarded, such as in the midst of a sneeze. If someone said the magic words, 'God bless you', immediately after the sneeze, then this unfortunate demonic possession could be avoided.

In many high rise buildings, you can take the stairs one flight up from the twelfth floor to the fourteen floor. What happened to the thirteenth floor? It's called triskaidekaphobia, and in Western cultures, it's a fear of the number 13. (Eastern cultures have a superstition about the number 4 called tetraphobia.)

Because we live in unstable times, people constantly look for a sense of stability and explanation. This can give us incredible advantage as it relates to persuasion.

What about something as innocuous as walking under a ladder? This dates back to early Christianity as the sides of the ladder and the ground form a triangle, the symbol of Holy Trinity.

It was thought that when one walked through it, it violated the trinity and put you on the same level as the devil. Nowadays, no one really knows where this superstition came from and yet, people avoid walking under ladders without reason. Maybe it's wise to avoid walking under ladders simply because you might end up with a bucket of paint on your head, but to believe bad luck will befall you? It's kind of a stretch.

I have an acquaintance who believes all religion and spirituality is superstition. I happen to think he's wrong, but I appreciate the perspective in that it's just another example of how framing is a powerful tool for looking at the world around us.

Superstition is defined as 'an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.'

Helen Keller asserted, "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. . . Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." This is a powerful example of how diverse we are in our thinking, and at the same time, we all believe in something as irrational as 'security'.

How can we use the fact that all of us 'believe' in something (possibly an 'irrational belief') to persuade?

In the world's ever increasing instability, we have the ability as persuaders to offer explanations to help them make sense out of their lives.

So in the same way that people look for supporting reasons, even nonsensical ones, to explain their reality, and they look to assign blame, we can do the same.

A favorite superstitious phrase of mine as it relates to persuasion is, 'there are no accidents'. Here's how it's used: You're talking to an affluent prospect about problems they've had in the past with an old adviser and say, 'Sure, you've been through it. You've had problems at other places, but now your problems are over. We live in an infinitely wise universe where there are no accidents.'

Is it true that we live in a universe where there are no accidents? Of course not. Will you be called on it by your prospect or client? Probably not. Unless you come up against a cynic who views the world through the frame that everyone is superstitious.

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Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.

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