78 Persuasion Techniques to Get People to Do What You Want Them To Do
Expand Your Persuasion ToolBox
Need to get people to do stuff? Then, you need persuasion techniques. You probably need a larger persuasion toolbox, full of useful tools to persuade people to do what you want them to do.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people persuade each other. As a big fan of the 6 laws of persuasion video by Robert Cialdini, I can’t help but think that it’s not the whole picture. There must be more than 6. There are!
I see people often persuade someone to do something with ‘It’ll only take 5 minutes’. Using time as the key persuader, got me thinking that there must be a whole bunch of everyday persuasion techniques that people use. Which led to the need for an exhaustive list of the persuasion techniques that people use in everyday life so that we can then expand our own repertoire of persuasion techniques.
Before we get to the list of persuasion techniques and persuasion examples, let’s just bottom out the difference between persuasion and influencing…
What’s the Difference Between Persuasion Techniques and Influencing Techniques?
This is a tricky topic, though ultimately not one to be concerned about because both terms can largely be used when we describe trying to change someone’s behaviour. I’d rather you and I spent our time upgrading our powers of persuasion than the semantics of which word describes it best — persuasion or influencing. If you do want to dive into the difference further, my own opinion follows:
The definition of influencing is:
The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.
The definition of persuasion is:
The action or process of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something.
Persuasion is often seen as negative and influencing as positive, but that’s not the case. Persuasion feels like being more direct and influencing less so.
As humans, we search Google much more for ‘persuasion techniques’ than we do ‘influencing techniques’ which might suggest that we use persuasion as the more common language for this type of thing.
Our ultimate aim is to get people to do what we want. Again, whilst it can sound manipulative this article looks at the positive use of persuasion techniques. Plus, we list those that are practical, simple and can be used every day.
In summary, I believe that persuasion is the shorter & sharper cousin of influencing. To use a metaphor, or two; Persuasion is the espresso and influencing is the latte. Or Influencing is the shotgun and persuasion is the rifle. Persuasion is a short-term change in someone’s mind and behaviours, whereas influencing is more long-term.
For Example, Here is Where it Feels Right and Wrong to Use ‘Persuade’ or ‘Influence’:
- We can persuade someone to go to a meeting for us.
- We cannot persuade someone to become the representative for learning in their division.
- We can influence someone to start leading more.
- We cannot influence someone to pick something up from the shops when they go.
This leads us to the espresso and latte metaphor being a good one to use. Let’s look at those espresso (Persuasion) techniques…
78 Ways We Persuade People in Real Life — In Summary
The list below is all the tools we have available to persuade someone and by choosing one, or a combination, we can change their behaviour. In essence, get that person to do what we want. I have included some influencing techniques too, where I believe they can be used short term. Plus, a few negotiation techniques, that I feel come under the persuasion umbrella too:
The List of 78
- Expert (Credibility) — Someone’s qualifications make us believe in them (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model).
- Intimacy — This part of the Trust Model tells us that knowing each other ground is important (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model).
- Reliable — This part of the Trust Model informs us of the importance of doing as we say we will (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model).
- Self Orientation — Talk about yourself a lot and watch people be dissuaded (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model).
- Relationship — When someone asks you to trust them because you have known them for a while.
- Consistency — ‘But you gave Bob a pay rise’.
- Fair — Using the word ‘fair’ to encourage someone to be fair.
- Reciprocity — You invite me to your party and then I do the same.
- Empathy — ‘That sounds really tough’.
- We — Using ‘we’, rather than ‘you’ to bring people on-board.
- Liking — We like people like ourselves.
- Common Ground — We like people who like what we like.
- Social Proof — If others like it, we might too.
- Humility — Being humble can win a lot of people over.
- Love — As Meatloaf said, ‘I’ll do anything for love…’.
- Humour — Make them laugh and they’ll be more open to you.
- Cheeky — ‘Go on, give me your number. You know you want to’.
- Emotional Response — You stir an emotion.
- Enjoyment — If you like doing something, you are more likely to do more of it.
- Enthusiasm — Ever been swayed by someone so enthusiastic?
- Compliment — Giving compliments breaks down barriers.
- Praise — A ‘well done’ can move mountains.
- Gift (Bribe) — In the positive, gifts are powerful. In the negative, a bribe is too.
- Please — Saying ‘please’ helps.
- Thank you — A simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way.
- Sorry — An apology can stop a ‘war’ before it starts.
- Belief — If we believe in someone or something we will move mountains for them/it.
- Respect — Respecting someone can drive us to take action.
- Whole world — Ever been speaking with someone and they stop you to read a text?
- Listen — The research tells us that people just want to be heard.
- Courteous — There is a reason why we research, for example how to bow, before we visit Asia.
- Smile — Richard Branson said that a ‘Smile and a handshake go a long way’.
- Guilt — ‘The kids would love to see the tree up’.
- Escalation — ‘Get me the manager’.
- Bullying — Doing what someone wants because you feel intimidated.
- Threat — ‘If you don’t do x, I will do y’.
- Irritator — ‘Of course I know what to do’.
- Competition — We want to beat other people and they want to beat us.
- Time — ‘It will only take you 5 minutes’.
- Time Pressure — ‘We need to get this done before the client notices’.
- Logic — ‘This project is a no-brainer’.
- Repetition — Saying the same thing again, and again, and again, and again.
- Ask — ‘Would you help me to get this done, please?’
- Tell — ‘Go and tidy your bedroom’.
- Words — For example, ‘Because’ is the most influential word.
- Three Words — ‘Get Brexit Done’.
- Halve Your Words — Double your impact.
- Body Language — How we sit, stand, express our face, etc. influences what a person will then do.
- Pause — Using pauses in our sentences can significantly persuade people.
- Storytelling — Stories are one of the most powerful ways to share an idea.
- Metaphors — ‘When I stood on the top deck of Titanic I could see directly into the eyes of the Statue of Liberty’.
- Trigger the Golden Question — How? — ‘We enable learners to change behaviours’.
- Push — One half of an influencing technique that encourages us to share what is on our mind.
- Pull — The other half of the influencing technique encourages us to ask what’s on their mind.
- Negotiate — If you then I.
- Reversing — Influencing can be like two magnets, as soon as you back away, they come to you.
- Swap — ‘What would you do in my shoes?’
- Framing — The lottery is either; A 99.9% chance of winning nothing or a chance of becoming a millionaire.
- Anchoring — ‘Ladies & Gents I’m not going to even ask FOR £25 for this bundle of meat’.
- Door in the Face — Ask for something big to get a no, and then ask for something smaller.
- Foot in the Door — Get agreement to something smaller and you are then more likely to get agreement to something larger.
- Free — Reminding people that they are free to make a decision will help them side with you.
- Confidence — Be confident in what you say and it will carry more weight.
- Clarity — Be very clear about what you want. No waffle.
- Limit Choices — Avoid choice paralysis by offering only 3 options.
- Last Choice — When people offer choices, the one they want is always the last one.
- Plan — If you have a plan of how to achieve something, it can be very persuasive.
- Vision — Sharing a vision of what it looks like when we achieve it.
- Inspire — By inspiring people they will deliver much more.
- Insight — Most colds are transferred in the house by touching the fridge.
- Image — A picture tells a thousand words.
- Necessity — Sharing that they need this, can be compelling.
- Financial — Getting what you want because you paid for it.
- Scarcity — Exclusive deals.
- Plea — A plea for someone to do something can be very effective.
- Wearing People Down — You’ve asked. You’ve pleaded. And you keep on trying.
- Generate Anticipation — Film posters and their trailers do this very well.
- Reduce the Risk — By eliminating risks they are less worried.
What are the Most Common Techniques We Use to Persuade?
I believe we can influence people in over 70 different ways to get what we want. In our lifetime most people have used a bunch of the tools above. They just don’t know that they have.
The 10 most commonly used persuasion tools are:
- 1. Expert — Someone’s qualifications make us believe them
- 9. Empathy — ‘That sounds really tough’
- 21. Compliment — Giving compliments breaks down barriers
- 24. Please — Saying ‘please’ helps
- 34. Escalation — ‘Get me the manager’
- 39. Time — ‘It will only take you 5 minutes’
- 41. Logic — The project is a no-brainer
- 42. Repetition — Saying the same thing again, and again
- 43. Ask — ‘Would you help me to get this done, please?’
- 71. Image — A picture tells a thousand words
Which leaves 68 others techniques that are underutilised. Which ones do you use most? And which ones would you like to add to your toolbox?
How Many Persuasion Techniques Do We Use?
I believe that we each use only 7 persuasion techniques. A little like we only have 7 meals we cook in the evening, as our go-to family-friendly feeders. The 7 meals you cook are different to the 7 I cook with some commonalities, like Chicken Casserole. Persuasion is the same. We both have 7 go-to persuasion techniques with commonality, for example, the most used way of getting someone to do what you want is to explain it to them with logic. For example, Wife to Husband (Though, could be husband to wife) — ‘We need a new refrigerator because the old one has stopped working’.
We couldn’t name the tools of persuasion we use but we do know that we persuade people and that we get frustrated when we can’t, with nowhere to turn for how to persuade them when we are stuck. This article has the power to significantly improve how well you persuade people. It comes with a health warning:
Only read on if you want to start getting people to do what you want…
78 Ways We Persuade People in Real Life — In Detail
1. Expert (Credibility) — Someone’s Qualifications Make Us Believe in Them (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model)
Ever noticed the certificates on the wall when you visit the doctor? Rightfully so, they are displayed. A doctor studies for many years to be qualified. The certificates are for them and for you. For them to be proud and for you to feel relaxed that you’re in the right hands. You both don’t need to spend time verbally jousting to figure out whether they are credible because the wall says so, leaving you to spend your time getting down to business — figuring out how to make you feel better.
How could you display your qualifications, certificates, awards, and accolades so that others know that you are the real deal? Some use their email signature, others update their LinkedIn profile. Find where people ‘see’ you most and tell them.
2. Intimacy — This Part of the Trust Model Tells Us That Knowing Each Other Ground is Important (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model)
This is one of the 4 parts of the trust model — intimacy. This part is about how much we know about each other. For example, if I tell you that I have two kids; Gabby and Jack, then you know a little more about me and we have started to build up our intimacy.
As our work relationships grow and we share pieces with each other we gain common ground and increase our trust. Trust is a very important building block of persuasion because you’ll have people that you trust who could ask you to do almost anything and you would without question because you have great trust. Abandon the email opener of ‘Hope you are well’ and use the opportunity to create trust.
The challenge with trust is that it takes a long time to build but can be destroyed in an instant.
3. Reliable — This Part of the Trust Model Informs Us of the Importance of Doing as We Say We Will (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model)
We’ve all got that friend who says they’ll be there but you know they’ll bail on you. Probably at the last minute. You both knew that when you asked them to come that there was no way they’d ever turn up. Reliability is one of the 4 parts of the trust model. For friends, we accept it but only for so long.
There are colleagues at work that when you ask them to do something by a deadline, they do. And then there are those that will have every excuse for never achieving the agreed deadline — ‘The dog ate my homework’ type of person.
Building a foundation of trust is important when you want to persuade someone, and building trust is about putting a tick against each of the 4 parts of the trust model.
4. Self Orientation — Talk About Yourself a Lot and Watch People be Dissuaded (One of 4 Parts of the Trust Model)
The fourth part of the trust model is Self Orientation. As a persuader, you can do great things to optimise trust with the other 3 parts of the trust model. Unfortunately, this can all be undone very quickly if you talk about yourself a lot and don’t focus on the other person.
Trust is hard to build and easy to demolish.
5. Relationship — When Someone Asks You to Trust Them Because You Have Known Them for a While
We’ve all been there. A friend, a colleague, or a partner has asked us to do something for them and we refused. They’ve pulled out the relationship card and asked us to trust them. This technique can only be used when you have known someone for a while. It cannot be used often but when it is used it is like having a Royal Flush in Poker.
6. Consistency — ‘But You Gave Bob a Payrise’
As with so many things it comes back to our childhood. If your brother got a sweet you rightly expected one too. You expected your Mum and Dad to be consistent. It is similar at work, we expect people to behave consistently, for them to do as they always have. If someone is being inconsistent this can be an opportunity to persuade them to be consistent. Like when we call Sky and say, ‘But my mate pays only £22 per month for his Sky’.
Asking someone to be consistent in what they did previously is the key to using this tool. For example, ‘You gave Bob investment for his project’.
7. Fair — Using the Word ‘Fair’ to Encourage Someone to be Fair
I could be in danger of stepping on the toes of negotiating. The feet of persuasion are very similar to those of negotiation, but I am sure you’ll allow this particular one because it is very persuasive.
The psychology around using the word ‘fair’ in negotiation is well documented. The word takes us back to our childhood when ‘fair’ was important. Sharing our toys, not being unfair to others, and hearing phrases like ‘fair enough’ a lot. Hearing that we are not being fair or that we should be being fair takes us right back to when we weren’t treated fairly and how wronged we felt.
Be careful not to overuse it. It’s like a wine buyer once told me about using the nose for sampling, it gets tired easily. So does using fair.
8. Reciprocity — You Invite Me to Your Party and I Do the Same
The word is a tongue tier but once you wrap your head around it, it’s a satisfying word to use.
reh — such — pro — such — tee
It’s about owing someone. Calling in a favour. Trading promises. Linkedin works very much that way with ‘following’. If I follow you, you are then compelled to follow me.
9. Empathy — ‘That Sounds Really Tough’
When you are having a tough day you just need an ear to bend. You don’t want solutions. You want empathy. Someone that understands. The difference between being sympathetic and being empathetic is a fine line, yet a line indeed.
Empathy means experiencing someone else’s feelings. It comes from the German Einfühlung, or ‘feeling into’. It requires an emotional component of really feeling what the other person is feeling. Sympathy, on the other hand, means understanding someone else’s suffering.
By being empathetic with someone, you will enable them to be more open to your persuasion.
10. We — Using ‘We’, Rather Than ‘You’ Brings People On-Board
When I bring a new training associate on board one of the things I look for, to know whether they are on board, is if/when they start using ‘we’ rather than ‘you’. It’s a subtle change by them that they probably don’t notice. It gives away when they are truly engaged with my business. Some never do. Some do quickly. Please open your reticular filter to the small words you and we.
11. Liking — We Like People Like Ourselves
We like people like us. Of course, we do. We’re great, aren’t we? We’re the best. The right ones. We like people that are like us. Look the same and sound the same. In terms of persuasion, it is much easier to persuade someone that is like us.
For example, I wanted to buy a Vespa motorbike. I’d grown up in Essex, UK, and moved to Oxford when I was 11 for my Dad’s job. A red Vespa came up for sale and it was located in Essex, many miles from Oxford, yet I was going back to my roots. When I went to buy it, yes, I dug back to my school days and when the seller and I spoke it was like two old cockneys. Needless to say, he gave me a great price because I was, as he said, ‘…one of us’.
This is why the Apple stores staff are dressed in jeans and t-shirts, rather than suits and ties because they are more likely to look like us.
12. Common Ground — We Like People Who Like What We Like
Well worth watching this video. Particularly the 5th law of persuasion to understand the power of finding common ground — Liking, which starts at 7:42 minutes:
13. Social Proof — If Others Like it, We Might too
Marks and Spencer doe this very successfully on their website.
’26 others people are looking at this. Over 100 sold in the last 48 hours. Must be good’.
This is how Robert Cialdini describes his sixth principle of persuasion — Social Proof
“Especially when they are uncertain, people will look to the actions and behaviours of others to determine their own.
You may have noticed that hotels often place small cards in bathrooms that attempt to persuade guests to reuse their towels and linens. Most do this by drawing a guest’s attention to the benefits that reuse can have on environmental protection. It turns out that this is a pretty effective strategy, leading to around 35% compliance. But could there be an even more effective way?
Well, it turns out that about 75% of people who check into a hotel for four nights or longer will reuse their towels at some point during their stay. So what would happen if we took a lesson from the Principle of Social Proof and simply included that information on the cards and said that 75% of our guests reuse their towels at some time during their stay, so please do so as well? It turns out that when we do this, towel reuse rises by 26%.
Another Example
Now imagine the next time you stay in a hotel you saw one of these signs. You picked it up and you read the following message: “75% of people who have stayed in this room have reused their towel.” What would you think? Well here’s what you might think: “I hope they’re not the same towels.” And like most people, you’d probably think that this sign will have no influence on your behaviour whatsoever.
But it turns out that changing just a few words on a sign to honestly point out what comparable previous guests have done was the single most effective message, leading to a 33% increase in reuse. Science is telling us that rather than relying on our own ability to persuade others, we can point to what many others are already doing, especially many similar others.
From my perspective, for example, when I worked in a corporate business and we were possibly going to be taken over, I looked to a leader I trusted for how he felt about the acquisition. This led to how I then thought about it and subsequently felt about it.
14. Humility — Being Humble Can Win a Lot of People Over
Most people have watched the X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent. Take two people with equal talents. One is arrogant, and another is humble. We always want the latter person to win, and we don’t like arrogance — we don’t warm to it. However, we do warm to people that show humility because its shows that whilst they have great talent they are not ‘cocky’. They are still willing to seek approval and be even better, and most of all, they are still one of us.
Recently, my son Jack and I went to see a film at the cinema. I had booked the wrong Vue cinema because we had just moved house. Thinking about this research into techniques of persuasion I was thinking about which one to use as I stepped up to the desk at the new cinema. I chose humility — ‘I am an idiot. We just moved. I booked for Oxford and should have booked for Bicester.’ He smiled and whilst he didn’t transfer the tickets from one Vue location to another (against policy!), he did seem to go out of his way to show me how I could easily get my money back. He liked that I had ‘fallen on my sword’ and was willing to help the person that was willing to bare his chest to his mistake.
Carol Dweck of the ‘Growth Mindset Vs Fixed Mindset’ fame talks a lot about being a leader with humility because those that are, demonstrate the ability to see what they still need to improve, and then do so. Humility can be a great persuader. Maybe one to add to your persuasive toolbox?
15. Love — As Meatloaf said, ‘I’ll do Anything for Love…’
16. Humour — Make Them Laugh and They’ll be More Open to You
A good colleague of mine, Alan, uses humour exceptionally well. He’s not a stand-up comedian and does not crack a huge amount of jokes. What he does very well is to identify when a situation is tense and brings some humour into it to get people working together again to listen to each other.
A tough ask for most of us, but if you can, do.
17. Cheeky — ‘Go on, Give Me Your Number. You Know You Want to’
The cheeky encouragement. Sometimes it’s just about encouraging the other person to ‘step forward’. Encouraging, but with an almost humourous tone. In this video, at 1:09 minutes Mona does a cheeky piece of encouragement on BBC’s The Apprentice. An expert class in cheeky encouragement.
18. Emotional Response — You Stir an Emotion
Car adverts illicit feelings of freedom or going fast, or absolute comfort. Or a yellow lawn, weeds, and dead plants make you feel sadness and guilt. Then they show the sun, a fine green lawn and colourful plants — this is how the garden adverts make us buy their products.
McDonald’s makes the kids happy. Captain Bird’s Eye makes Mum feel that she is feeding the kids something nutritious with its Omega-3 flashes on the pack. Virgin used to make us feel that we are ‘sticking it to the big boys’.
When we are getting people to do what we want this persuasion technique is all about considering first how we want them to feel. For example, it might be a high-profile project and we want them to feel included and proud. Or we have been working silly hours and asking for their help, we’d like them to feel empathetic. Or presenting an insight to a group with the objective of making them feel amazed by what you have achieved.
What emotion would you like them to feel when you persuade them of x?
19. Enjoyment — If You Like Doing Something, You are More Likely to do More of it
That’s why people have hobbies. Do people like having meetings with you? Talking with you? Going to your presentations?
A colleague of mine has the enjoyment factor. People like speaking with him, being with him, they like him. I realised a long time ago that I was never going to be this guy so I stopped trying to be him and started being me. Likeable, just perhaps not as likeable as him. The lesson here is that some of these persuasion techniques are not for us and that is OK. We need to be the very best version of ourselves and doing that means that we need to use the tools that we can use. Not those that others can use.
20. Enthusiasm — Ever Been Swayed by Someone so Enthusiastic?
Ever had the ‘wave of enthusiasm’ wash through you? Someone so enthusiastic about an idea that you just couldn’t help but be carried away by what they wanted to do.
21. Compliment — Giving Compliments Breaks Down Barriers
Everyone likes a compliment. Mind, it has to be genuine. False compliments can be sensed a mile away and will also push your persuadee a mile away too.
How to give a compliment:
- Find something you like about that person. Even if you have known them forever:
- ‘Thank you for being a great friend all these years.’
- Or, for a colleague, ‘We work really work together. thank you for making you easy to work with’.
2. Say it.
3. Practice: Repeat the same technique each time you meet someone.
22. Praise — A ‘Well Done’ Can Move Mountains
What we are not doing here is, ‘You did a great job. Can you now do all this stuff over here?’. That’s the dark side of using persuasion techniques and often won’t work. What we are doing is genuinely praising someone that has done a great job and remembering to add why, which is a key part of the SBI model of giving feedback. Then, in the future, when you want to persuade someone to do what you want them to do, it will be heard much more favourably.
23. Gift (Bribe) — In the Positive, Gifts are Powerful. In the Negative, a Bribe is too
Bribes are obviously in the negative column of persuasion. Yet, genuine gifts to say thank you build the foundation of a relationship that can make future persuasions much easier.
When did you last send a little something to say thank you? Or even a card to say thanks. At Christmas, we send our clients a self-development book. Last Christmas we sent them all a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Bomber Mafia’.
24. Please — Saying ‘Please’ Helps
Back to our childhood when we learnt our manners and the importance of being polite. A ‘please’ can make all the difference.
In the film ‘A Few Good Men’, Colonel Jessep (Played by Jack Nicholson) says to Lieutenant Kaffee (Played by Tom Cruise), ‘You have to ask me nicely’.
25. Thank you — A Simple ‘Thank You’ Can Go a Long Way
Thank you for taking the time from your demanding day to read this article because I believe it will help you to be the very best version of yourself.
Which 4 persuasion techniques did I use bove?
Thank you + Empathy + Because + Vision.
26. Sorry — An Apology Can Stop a ‘War’ Before it Starts
Sorry seems to be the hardest word, Elton John.
27. Belief — If We Believe in Someone or Something We Will Move Mountains for Them/it
You don’t need me to tell you the story of Nelson Mandela. He believed and got a nation to believe too. Or Martin Luther King or JFK with his space mission. If we can get people to believe there is no end to what is possible. Or on a sadder note, Jim Jones of Jonestown motivated his ‘flock’ to commit mass suicide. They believed in him.
Why did people believe in these people? They spoke with unwavering belief.
28. Respect — Respecting Someone Can Drive us to Take Action
For example, Captain Sir Tom Moore walked laps around his garden raising £33m for the NHS. Out of respect for his service as a veteran and his commitment to walking around his garden at 99 years of age, we gave huge amounts of money.
Why should people give you their respect?
29. Whole World — Ever Been Speaking With Someone and They Stop You to Read a Text That has Just Come in?
Drown out any and all distractions because it will show the person how important they are. A phone ringing, someone texting, or an assistant banging on the door — ignore them because the person right in front of you is the most important person in the world right now and they have all of your focus, and your attention.
Don’t let a minor distraction create a big resentment.
30. Listen — The Research Tells us That People Just Want to be Heard
In call centres, agents are taught to actively listen to the customer when there is a complaint. Not trying to defend the problem, but understanding the problem first, almost like taking the wind out of the sails of the complaint by seeking to understand the problem. Letting the customer run out of steam because we often just want to be heard.
For example, you often see two people trying to persuade each other of their point of view. Their speed of speech increases, their volume increases, and their tone becomes stronger. Neither will persuade the other. It’s now about who can be heard the most, yet neither person is listening.
For one person to say, ‘This is not working. We’re not listening to each other. How about, I listen to you, and then you listen to me?’. It might just work.
31. Courteous — There is a Reason Why We Research, for Example How to Bow, Before We Visit Asia
Good old-fashioned courtesy. Remember that courtesy is different in different parts of the world. If we visit China on business most business travellers will have googled the traditions because they want to be courteous to their host, as we would expect someone visiting the UK. Courtesy matters. Many a contract has been lost because the prospect was thought to be rude.
32. Smile — Richard Branson said that a ‘Smile and a Handshake Go a Long Way’
33. Guilt — ‘The Kids Would Love to See the Tree Up’
You can imagine the scenario — Mum has come home from a long day at work. The kids are chomping at the bit because the tree has been delivered and it just needs setting up. Dad has come in after a long day too. Granny has been looking after the kids all day and has seen how excited they are to get the tree up. Granny says, ‘The kids would love to see the tree up’.
What choice do Mum and Dad have but to go get the Christmas decorations from the loft and set up the tree? Guilt can be very persuasive.
