Persuasion Tool #4 – Zeigarnik Effect
This tool is something you can use in sales, negotiation and persuasive presentations. It’s called the Zeigarnik effect. This is the tendency in humans to remember uncompleted thoughts, ideas or tasks more than completed ones.
This is important because when we’re left hanging or something arouses curiosity – it drives us crazy. We want to know the end of the story. What’s the missing piece? We want to complete our tasks, so we can check them off our list. And when we can’t, when it’s unfinished, it’s known as the Zeigarnik effect. The bottom line is when something is not completed, whether it be a thought, idea or a task, we remember it more.
This comes from Bluma Zeigarnik who was a psychologist and a psychiatrist. She worked with the Berlin school of experimental psychology. She was from Russia in the late 20’s and was working on her doctoral thesis. And if you need to know her middle name, it was Wulfovna. Now you can say you learned at least one thing! .
This is what happened to her. She was in a café in Vienna Austria. She was watching waiters and waitresses and she observed that a waiter or a waitress could remember everything someone had ordered. But once the food was delivered, the waiter or waitress would forget the entire order.
She started thinking about why the brain worked that way. She realized that it’s easier to remember an uncompleted task, but once a task is completed, the memory immediately starts to fade. She also discovered that uncompleted tasks stick in your memory, improve recall and help us remember. What happens is an intrusive, almost nagging thought about that goal or something we are supposed to do. It’s built into our psyche. We want closure to what we start.
Let me give you a few examples. What about television and news programs? Right before the commercial break, the news caster says “Did you know your drinking water could kill you?” It piques your interest. What if? You wanted to eat, but you’ve got to find out the rest of the story. Interrupting thoughts or incomplete tasks can increase memory retention. When something is incomplete or arouses curiosity – it triggers mental anxiety and increases the chances of remembering the uncompleted task/thought. That’s the Zeigarnik Effect.
You also see this when you’re watching Netflix. The creators are expert at getting you to watch the next episode, and then the next one. So what they do is leave you hanging right before the next episode. It keeps our attention and it motivates us to continue to watch all the episodes. What about watching a movie on TV? Right before the commercial break, the knife comes up; we get scared and ask ourselves, what’s going to happen next? BAM — a commercial break. You have to stay tuned, it’s unfinished. What’s going to happen next? You see, we don’t feel satisfaction until we receive closure or resolution to the message.
We love to data dump, but it hurts retention. The brain is designed for a little information at a time or solving a puzzle. When people find the answers for themselves, (a little bit at a time) your prospects are more likely to arrive at the desired conclusion. An example would be in the court room. People feel confident and impressed with the information they discover for themselves. A good lawyer doesn’t disclose everything about the case, they do a little bit at a time. They let the jury discover for themselves as the trial progresses.
Bluma Zeigarnik just didn’t leave her hypothesis at the café in Vienna. She went back to her laboratory and she conducted studies with subjects that were required to complete various puzzles. Some of those subjects were interrupted right in the middle of trying to solve puzzles. All the subjects were then asked to describe what task they had done. Now here’s what’s interesting. It turns out that the subjects remembered the interrupted, uncompleted tasks 90% better than the completed ones. In other words, uncompleted tasks and interrupted thoughts will usually stay on your mind until you finish them.
Use the Zeigarnik effect with voice mail. How? Mention something that’s incomplete. They’ll remember you more. It doesn’t guarantee they will call you back, but it increases the chances.
Voicemail Zeigarnik Examples:
Hey, I’ve found that study you’re looking for…
Frank, I’ve solved your problem; give me a call about……
You’ll be so excited to see what I’ve discovered….
I finally resolved (Fill in the blank.)
You’re going to be floored when I tell you what just happened….
When you use the Zeigarnik effect, it statistically increases the chances that they’re going to call you back. So when you’re doing your presentation or when you’re leaving a voice mail – leave some things unfinished. If you want them to remember you, buy your product or your service, leave something incomplete. Use the Zeigarnik effect.