Episode 285 Scott Adams: Flag Persuasion and How to do it Right. Starts at Midnight

Date: 2018-11-03 | Duration: 10:13

Topics

Proper persuasion technique for influential flag tweets Increases likelihood of viewer voting Republican Tweet images of the American flag only…Nothing else NO text NO additional images NOTHING…but the American flag should be in your tweet Begin tweeting Sunday-Tuesday…but don’t overdo it

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## Transcript

## [Flag Persuasion and the Priming Effect](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=5s)

Hey everybody, come on in here. Nicholas, the rest of you, we’ve got to talk about this flag persuasion and how to do it right, because people are doing it wrong all over the place. I thought I’d set it right as soon as we get a thousand people. I’ll launch into my point here. This will be a little persuasion lesson—a mini-lesson on a single topic, but valuable. You can take it with you. 

It goes like this: a few days ago, I recommended that, based on science, it’s been shown that people who have seen a picture of the United States flag—once they see the flag—get primed to vote Republican, even if they weren’t inclined a minute before they saw the flag. The flag has this weird power over Americans that just biases them to vote Republican. 

I had suggested that, starting Sunday—which would be midnight tonight—people tweet lots of flags. But I had a very specific direction, and I’m watching online as some people who are enthusiastic and trying to get out there are doing it completely wrong. 

## [Why Most People Are Doing It Wrong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=66s)

Let me teach you a persuasion lesson at the same time I’m telling you why they’re doing it wrong. The correct answer is just a flag. No words. Nothing around the flag that has any meaning whatsoever. 

Let me tell you the ones that I’ve seen that are wrong so far. I’ve seen a number of people who are trying to go the extra distance and they’re showing rows of flags in cemeteries. You could not persuade worse than that. "Cemetery dead" is the worst thing you want to combine for this purpose. Obviously, I’m not suggesting that there should be no flags on the cemetery; that’s a good place for them for military people. But for this purpose, you only want people to think about the flag. Don’t take their mind to war. Don’t take their mind to death in cemeteries. Total mistake. It’s a 10-out-of-10 mistake. 

So again: flag only. Nothing around it. No graves, no buildings. I saw someone else tweet an American flag on a building that looked maybe a little rundown. Don’t do that, because people are thinking about the building. The building becomes part of the message. 

## [The Persuasion Lesson: Don't Add to a Perfect Message](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=187s)

Just a flag. No words. Do not add "Please vote." Do not add "Vote for a candidate." Do not add "Do your duty." Do not add "America." Do not add any words. 

Here is the persuasion lesson that accompanies that point: if you have a perfect message, everything you add to it takes away from it. That’s the lesson. It seems obvious when I say it. If your persuasion is already solid gold perfect, everything you add to it decreases its power. If you add one word to it, it decreases its power. One extra image anywhere else in the picture—except maybe the flagpole—decreases its power. 

That’s the important thing. Let me give you an example of how a trained hypnotist—of which I am one—how I use that. When I developed Dilbert, you’ve all seen Dilbert and you know that Dilbert doesn’t have a last name. Do you know why Dilbert doesn’t have a last name? Because if he did, you would start reading into him more than I want you to. If he had a last name, you’d say, "Oh, that tells me what ethnicity he is," or "what country of origin he's from," and "I can't relate to that because I'm not whatever that country of origin is." 

By leaving out Dilbert’s last name, I make him more popular. Anything I added to tell you where he lives, what his last name is, even what kind of car he drives, decreases your ability to relate to him and say, "Oh yeah, I work in an office, I’m that guy." Likewise, you noticed that the boss has no name. The boss is a perfect prototype of the incompetent boss. The moment I add a name and say his name is Bob, you say to yourself, "Oh, he reminds me of my boss, but my boss is not named Bob." Now, you don’t consciously do that, but everything you say about the boss that goes beyond the fact that he’s a perfect icon for incompetent bosses—the moment you go beyond that and say his name is Eric—you’ve decreased its value. You haven’t increased it.

## [Talking Past the Sale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=309s)

Here is the lesson: in hypnosis, people understand that once your message is perfect, do not add to it. In the sales community, that would be called "talking past the sale"—not to be confused with making people "think past the sale," which is good. 

Here’s an example of talking past the sale. The salesperson will be played by Dale. I say to the salesperson, "Hey, how much are these?" 
"Those are $59." 
"That’s great, does it do everything I want?" 
"Yes, it will charge your phone." 
"All right, great. I’ll take it." 
"It’s one of the best there is." 
"What?" 
"It’s one of the best batteries you could buy." 
"You mean there are other batteries that are in that same class?" 
"Yes." 
"So maybe I should look at them? Are some of them better?" 
"Yeah, a little bit. Some of them." 
"Do you have any of those better batteries in stock?" 
"Not right now." 
"So if I go ahead and buy this the way you suggested, I will not have the best battery, but I could walk home and order the best battery online? Is that what you’re telling me?" 
"Maybe." 

That’s an example of talking past the sale. The sale had been made; the customer was going to buy it. He just kept talking until he said something that made the customer go, "What?" 

## [Execution and Timing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=432s)

Don’t make that mistake with your flag image. Pick a flag that’s just a flag. I would also recommend that you not wear people out with your flag. For example, you might tweet one flag tomorrow, maybe one or two. Maybe by Monday, several flags. Maybe by Tuesday, that’s all you’re tweeting. 

Midnight tonight is when you should all consider tweeting an American flag. Let me tell you, there is no symbol in the American experience that is more likely to get you to stand up. Do you get that? If you’re trying to get people to act in a big way—and acting in a big way means planning to vote, actually going to vote, standing in line—doing all the work of voting. When you try to get somebody to do a big thing, it really helps persuasion-wise to first get them to do a small thing and just sort of get them going. 

## [The Flag as an Action Symbol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORS4Z4DfVZo&t=496s)

The American flag is unique. What’s your first instinct when you see an American flag? It’s to act, right? You’re going to salute it, you’re going to hand-to-heart, you’re going to stand for it. 

Let me give you two examples. You’re walking down the street and there are two things that you see on the sidewalk on the ground. One of them is a $20 bill just laying there and the other is an American flag. You see them at the same time, right next to each other. Which one do you pick up first? 

You’re going to pick up the flag first, and then if the 20 is still there, you’ll think about the 20. But you’re going to pick up the flag first. If they're close enough together, you pick them up at the same time, but you’re going to pick up the flag. 

My point is that the flag creates action like no symbol ever has for Americans. It is the most action-oriented symbol, and it biases people Republican. So if that’s what you want, that’s what you do. 

I want to keep this just at one point. I will sign off for now and I’ll talk to you later.