I hope you’ve studied the MindMap, or watched the video of Barry Schwartz’ talk about “The Paradox Of Choice”.

If so, the next question is: what’s the point of all this? Sure, it’s interesting to know, but how can this information help you to influence your own life and the life of others for the better? What are some of the most important lessons of the Paradox of Choice for Influencers?

• If you DON’T want people to make a decision, increase the number of choices.
  The more choices somebody has, the less likely that they will make any decision at all.
• If you DO want people to make a decision, reduce the number choices.
  Studies have shown that if you offer people less choices, they will buy more. The only exception of this case is when people already know exactly what they want (which is almost never the case).
• If you know what’s best for people, overwhelm them with options and give them the option to do nothing (or postpone the decision) - and let “doing nothing” be the default option that will most likely be best for them.
  • And example of this can be found in public policy. In both the US and Europe people have similar attitudes towards organ donors - they thing it’s a good thing. However, in Europe much more people actually ARE organ donors than in the US. The reason is not that Europeans are more benevolent, but that in many European countries you have to opt-out if you don’t want to be an organ donor when renewing your drivers license, while in the US you have to opt-in if you want to be an organ donor. So the difference is - in Europe you have to take action to NOT be an organ donor, while in the US you have to take action to BE an organ donor.

• As an influencer you now know that the easier the decision process is for a person, the happier that person will be with the outcome. That’s why outsourcing decisionmaking is a good idea in many cases. This is very counterintuitive, because people generally WANT to be included in the decision making process - but they are happier with the end result when they are not!

Let’s think you would want to use this to positively influence someone else to…

• Fitness: If a friend or spouse has a very sedate lifestyle, he will definitely benefit from engaging in some kind of physical activity. Now you could suggest them: “Hey, why don’t you start to do some sport? There are so many things you could do, running, squash, kung fu, going to the jim, pilates, yoga, nordic walking, rowing, karate, cycling, hiking, hockey, tai chi, swimming, diving, volleyball…”
  But that’s not a persuasive setup. Instead, better spend some time before you talk to your friend and think about what would best fit his situation:
  What could he incorporate in his schedule? Some people work in shifts and can’t really attend training sessions on a regular basis at the same time. They might not be able to show up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5pm for karate because the change shifts. So something they can practice anytime would suit them more.
  What would he probably enjoy most? What fits his personality?
  If it’s a competetive, action oriented person, diving or tai chi might not be the most attractive choices.
  What would be realistic for him?
  If someone is obese and hasn’t really done anything physically for years, downhill mountain biking will not be the right place to start. Swimming would be a better choice.
  Now, once you have your act together, present this one option to him, with all the reasons you came up with, hammer him from all sides. Sell him on this one thing, but sell this one thing from as many sides as possible. This way, you’re much more likely to get him to take action than if you present him the full spectrum of choices.
• Diets and eating habits: I don’t know how many diet systems are out there right now, but it must be hundreds, if not thousands.
• Social activities: bars, dancing, joining organizations, clubs, cafes, networking, etc.
• Education options: distance learning, college, seminars, home-study courses, books, teleconferences, apprenticeship, etc.
• Buying decisions: what kind of handy, laptop, car, printer, stereo-system, etc.