When I first got online, I was astounded. A marketer tried to sell me a battery of tests I could offer my clients. The seller said the results were “self-validating.” If it felt right, it was accurate.
Fresh from an academic world, I was horrified. The whole concept seemed ridiculous. Where’s the real validation? Where are the hypotheses we test?
But I soon learned the truth: People go by appearance. They don’t know the truth, so they make decisions based on what’s easy to see.
In one court case I read about, the expert witnesses for the defense were academics. They spoke softly, referring carefully to “in our opinion” and “it is like that…”
The prosecution wasn’t bothered by these tactics. They came out swinging, making broad generalizations with a lot of flash. They won.
You can go on YouTube and read hundreds of stories about victims who got romance-scammed. Inevitably, the scammer put on a good act designed to tear at the heartstrings of a vulnerable person.
None of these people thought of asking, “Why would this person need ME to bail him out of tough spots? A successful person would have friends, if not family. They ignored obvious red flags, like military people who had to pay for their leave.
In the recent presidential debate, one candidate felt he could say anything he wanted, whether true or false. There’s no real-time fact-checking. Even if there were, a lot of people wouldn’t care. He sounded strong and confident.
And in everyday business, we’re hearing more and more personal stories. People want to know something about the person.
“I don’t have any idea how my financial advisor got interested in finance,” I told someone. “I know even less about my tax preparer. I don’t know anything about their history and frankly, I don’t care. They’re good at what they do, they’re polite and friendly, and they take care of my money.”
The other person was horrified. “I want to know them three-dimensionally,” she said. “Are they married? Do they have kids? Why do they do what they do?”
I have a theory about this. When people don’t know how to evaluate a service, they look for obvious signals like colors and style. When they don’t know who to believe, they go for flash and confidence.
As a marketer I am very aware of this…painfully aware, you might say. People still read my articles and listen to my podcast. Some of them go for content.
I’ve even created a course on how to show people you’re an expert by enhancing your credibility.
Mostly, though, I think we need courses in critical thinking. We need to evaluate people based on their skills and expertise…not on their colors and style. People can be good-looking AND smart…but not always. We have to go beyond the first look to hear what they have to say.