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The Power of the Post-it
I’m not sure I believe this, but it’s scientifically proven, so maybe I just have to accept it. From Harvard Business Review:
Imagine that you really need to convince someone to do something, such as following through on a task. You might be surprised to learn that one of the best ways to get someone to comply with your request is through a tiny nuance that adds a personal touch—attaching a sticky note.
I hate these. But a recent experiment showed that when respondents were asked to fill out and return a survey, 76 percent of them complied only when the cover letter had a little personalized sticky note attached.
When there was no sticky note, the rate collapsed to 36 percent.
Okay, so why? Here’s what the experimenter came up with:
- It doesn’t match the environment—the sticky note takes up space and looks a bit cluttered. The brain, therefore, wants it gone.
- It gets attention first because of #1. It’s difficult to ignore.
- It’s personalized. (That’s the difference between Group 2 and Group 3 in the experiment.)
- Ultimately, the sticky note represents one person communicating with another important person—almost as if it is a favor or special request, which makes the recipient feel important.
I still hate them. Doesn’t everyone?
Published in General
OMG — I’m totally going shopping for multi-colored sticky notes to do this in my kids’ rooms. Question, though. Where do you buy the black ones?!
That’s what she s…. No, I better not.
Thank goodness you have read the CoC. My “code” from now on shall be “Etc.” : )
As in punch, fight, etc.
That’s for the best. Punch, Fight, [CoC] sounds dirtier than the original.
Awww…
I need to go to Staples and find some notes like that!
Everyone on this site has said that before, probably many times.
Unless it had my boss’s handwriting on it, No way I would respond
The result is counter-intuitive. I need more information.
Is it a faux sticky note or one that’s actually written by a human hand? A faux sticky note is a sure sign I’ve opened junk mail by mistake (possibly because it didn’t have a faux personalized scrawl on the envelope). That triggers an involuntary angry tearing and dropping-into-the-trash reaction. A sticky note vrai gets my full attention and if it says “See me” generally triggers a reaction that varies from mild flushing to total loss of sphincter control. Handwritten “A.S.A.P,” of course, is an exception, triggering no discernible responses other than lassitude and immediate inattention.
A theory of the post-it note’s effectiveness: It invites you to remove it.
You get a document, and it’s forbidding. It’s one coherent thing, obviously, it looks polished and formal. It probably has a staple in it, or maybe it’s even bound. A monolith. What a chore.
The little post-it, however, is none of these things. Its adhesive is easy to peel and doesn’t leave a mess. It contains only a little info, easy to read.
You want to pull off the note. Responsibility requires that you at least read it before you ball it up. Now you’re hooked a little. Handling and reading the note, maybe even disposing of it, has moved your head incrementally into the document space. It’s not so bad in here, as I turn the first page.