Phone Strategy in Arranging a Meeting
(Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Strategy Using Communication Theories)
During the Christmas vacation, my mother and I met a businessman working for a company implementing Network 21 – a type of a business system. This company sells products to the members, which are being distributed for some series of selling. The system provides CDs and readings from successful businessmen. He gave away some tips in negotiating. One of this is the ‘power of questioning’, as he calls it.
He said, through his experience, that questioning is a good tactic in taking control of a conversation.
Example is this script in setting an appointment by calling a person you already know in the telephone.
Part 1:
Aireen (the caller): Hello Maureen. This is Aireen. Are you busy on January 4?
Maureen: Yes, I have some errands to do. Why do you ask?
Aireen: How about in January 6?
Maureen: No
The first part is questioning the availability of the person. It is practical. Setting two dates is a key for best chances. In questioning, it is best to set questions answerable by yes or no so that the conversation is not too messy. If the two dates is not available for the Maureen it’s okay, since Aireen didn’t let loose more information, there is another chance to ask Maureen in future without Maureen being irritated.
Part 2:
Aireen: Do you want to have additional source of income?
Maureen: Yes
Aireen: I met a businessman, he is looking for potential business partners and he wants to invite few people in his house, would you like to come, since you’re not busy on January 6, right? Let’s meet 9:00 am in the City Diagnosis Center, his house is near there.
Maureen: What is this business you’re talking about?
Aireen: Obviously, I can’t tell this all on the phone. We can meet on the City Diagnosis Center on January 6, so do you want to go?
Maureen: Yes
Aireen: Bye
Maureen: Bye
On the second part, the questions are now for interest. When Maureen was asked if he want to have additional money she said yes. Based on the businessman’s experience, 95% of people if asked about this usually say ‘yes’.
When Maureen asked about what’s the business is all about? Aireen chooses to hang her there by not slipping more information. Aireen also said ‘obviously, I cannot tell this all in the phone’. ‘Obviously’ has a psychological effect that further stress that Maureen’s initiated action is cannot be done.
In this way Maureen would be curious about this proposal and decide to come. Finally the conversation is over. It’s not a messy conversation and it saves time.
Now let’s discuss the first part. Now we are here to find what’s behind questioning and how the whole strategy works. First, what is questioning and why is important in this situation? Waterman, Blades and Spencer (2001) stated that: “asking questions is a fundamental part of communication, and as such will be an important factor in the work of many professionals” p.477.
It is important to a negotiation because if you ask more questions you can easily dominate the situation. Gee, Gregory and Pipe (1999) stated that ‘‘there is generally a substantial status, power and expertise differential between interviewer and respondent” p.112. In most situations, the people in higher status ask questions. Example of these are the relationship between: teachers and students; physicians and patients; and interrogator and accused. Dillon (1982) reported that ‘teachers ask about two questions per minute, while their pupil taken as a whole only ask two questions per hour’. Brashers, Goldsmith and Hsieh (2002) put it that: “physicians ask most of the questions and patients provide most of the information ”p. 259. Skelton and Hobbs (1999) stated that patients have difficulty of asking questions.
In the communication act, the topic, which is discussed, is limited to what the one ‘in control’ dictates. Also, since every question Maureen asks is being brushed off from the discussion she is refrained to what Aireen wants to talk about. This is the cue that makes questioning more effective.
Fiedler (1993) noted that: “the way in which a person is questioned may have a substantial effect on his or her credibility, regardless of he or she actually says” p.362. Example of this is on interrogations, an interrogator could ask the respondent in a way that would create stress on the respondent. This stress creates less self-esteem and confidence on the respondent. This has also a connection on Noelle-Neumann’s ‘Spiral of Silence’. Noelle-Neumann predicted that:
“Individuals who… notice their own personal opinion is spreading and is taken by others will voice this opinion self-confidently.
Individuals who notice that their own opinion are losing ground, will be inclined to adopt more reserve attitude”.
The theory predicts that when you are being heard you tend to express more but when you notice that you are not heard you tend to keep your opinion to yourself.
Supporting this theory is the result of one of the tests made by the German Public Opinion Research Center. They ask:
“Assume that you have five hours of train or plane travel ahead of you, and somebody [next to you] begins to talk about abortion. Would you like to talk to this person or would you rather not talk?” One factor concluded in this test is that ‘low self-esteem will cause a person to remain mute’. Mute here is not a person who cannot speak. Being mute here is someone who cannot voice or further argue once stand.
When Maureen noticed that there is no use in asking question she went with the flow. She answered what Aireen want to ask. We can predict deep inside Maureen still want to continue asking but she knows it wont get the conversation wouldn’t continue if she insisted. Since Aireen is also dominating, she has no choice but to submit.
On the second part, questioning is again used but in a different way. This part is where persuasion is being used. In the context, we can apply the peripheral route type of persuasion as stated in the ‘Elaboration Likelihood Model of Richard Petty and John Cacioppo.
Elaboration Likelihood Model suggested that there are types of persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route. According to Petty, Goldman, Cacioppo (1981):
“In central route views attitude change as resulting from a diligent consideration of issue-relevant argument. The peripheral route attitudes change because the attitude object has been associated with either positive or negative ‘cues’“ p. 847.
Central route involves elaboration of ideas to persuade. As Griffin (1997) summarized “ it’s an attempt to process the new information rationally’. Peripheral route is different. It doesn’t need a lot of elaboration and cognition. It only requires cues that make someone make a quick decision. These cues are: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity. In our context, Maureen used the cue of ‘social proof’. She knows that mostly everyone wants an additional source of money.
Aireen didn’t want to let go of so much information because she wants Maureen to go to the place of the orientation. When she is further asked by Maureen to elaborate she said, “Obviously, I can’t tell this all on the phone”. She can actually say some more on the phone but she chose not to because she wants Maureen to be curious.
There’s a possibility that Maureen would be curious. She is somehow ‘nabitin’ from the discussion. Charles Berger can support this through his ‘Uncertainty Reduction Theory’ His axiom 3 states that “High levels of uncertainty, cause increases in information-seeking behavior”. As the information is being restrained the curiosity increases.
Curiosity is connected to motivation. According to Lownstein (1994), “curiosity occupies a critical position at the crossroads of cognition and motivation“. The studies of Menon and Saman (2002) about the effectively of web advertising strategy using curiosity as a motivating factor also supported this assumption. Following are their recommendations:
“• Arouse curiosity by demonstrating a gap in the
consumers’ knowledge
• Provide just enough information to make them
want to resolve their curiosity
• Give consumers time to try to resolve their curiosity on their own”
Now that we know what’s facts behind the use of the strategy. We would find now the strength of this strategy. Aristotle, one of the pioneers who analyzed the power of persuasion, provided three categories, the: ethos, logos, and the pathos.
Ethos involves the credibility of the persuader. One factor that is needed in the strategy provided by the businessman we met is that the one you call is someone you know or if possible close to you. We all know that we are more comfortable to people who we know we can trust. This is one of the geniuses this strategy has. No wonder the company persuades people through saying “helping yourself and at the same time helping those people around you”.
In ‘logos’ rationality is now being questioned. Since the thing being talked about here is ‘extra income’, it could be enough to lure someone into taking the bait. Since the one being persuaded knows the persuader it would be easy to trust that the offer could be a sure thing.
Pathos involves the emotions of the target. This is hard to be found in this strategy. The persuaded seems in the state of being restrained. But everything can be balanced with the ‘curiosity’ factor of the context.
So what is the power behind this strategy? According to Georgersen and Harris (1998), “power is the amount of influence that one person can exercise over another” p.185.
The power of this strategy lies between the uses of ‘information’. According to Tourish and Hargie (2000) employees wants managers that can impart more information. Sure, in our world, we greatly look for someone who can impart knowledge. That drives the Law of Specialization, where each of us can impart to the big system through a special knowledge we are expert of – this are our expertise.
Curiosity here is the factor that drives this strategy to success. If we save our information we can gain something in return in the future. It is like working or having a job. You do what needs to be done, you work what being asked to you, and impart what you know but in return you have payment. If you are not being paid then of course the natural thing to do is leave and impart of what you know in somewhere where you can gain profit.
The questioning is another important factor to organize this situation. Its purpose is for the conversation to have a backbone. It is the skeletal system of the strategy. It keeps the conversation smooth and like what the term the businessman used ‘not messy’. It would lessen the stress in time and effort.
Why? First he asked if the person is available. If the other person says no then you know it’s you’re time to let go. You can ask the same person again because you know this person hasn’t heard yet what you have to say. This person would not be irritated. One tendency if you let go too much information is that the person might think ‘oh here he/she goes again’.
When you ask is this person is he interested, if he said no then you know that it’s a lost case. You can’t go asking him again of the same banana.
In this manner you can even call at least 10 people a day just using this strategy. One key here is not to sound desperate. Since this technique is not that time consuming you should be relaxed.
This technique can be very effective. The company had used this technique and the businessman said it seldom fail. I think it’s a good strategy too because it is organized. There are some psychological aspects being applied in here. The businessman even said that this is just a basic strategy and anyone can execute it. The simplicity of this strategy is what makes it more effective.
Though it is simple, this strategy has a lot of thinking attached to it. It did not just come out of nowhere. It also helps new entrepreneurs in business communicating. This is a good strategy, simple, easy and effective.
Work Cited:
Books:
Owen Hargie and David Dickson, Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice Fourth Edition copyright 2004 MPG, Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall (p.115-146)
Griffin,EMA First Look At Communication Theory New copyright 2006, York:McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Websites:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kc502498/elm.htm
Citations used by the website which is used in the research:
Petty, Richard, Cacioppo, John T., and Goldman, Rachel Personal Involvement as a Determinant of Argument-Based Persuasion can be found in American Psycological Association, Inc. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol. 41,(1981). pp847-855.
Petty, Richard and Cacioppo, John Elaboration Likelihood Model can be found in Griffin,EM.(1997).A First Look At Communication Theory New York:McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Kate Borowske, Curiosity and Motivation-to-Learn, http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/borowske05.pdf
Citations used by the website which is used in the research:
Loewenstein, George. 1994. “The psychology of curiosity:
a review and reinterpretation.” Psychological Bulletin
116: 75–98.
Menon, Satya, and Dilip Soman. 2002. “Managing the
power of curiosity for effective Web advertising strategies.”
Journal of Advertising 31, no. 3. http://infotrac.
galegroup.com/.
