Scarcity Reflection

Please note that because we have been tasked to write about personal experiences, it seems appropriate to write from the first-person perspective for this portion of the essay.

Persuasion is a valuable skill in both business-related and casual communication. In the summer after I graduated high school, I began looking for work locally by handing my practically empty resume in to various small businesses in the area, from family grocery to hardware stores, with no success. Seemingly coincidentally, an opportunity for freelance writing arose, which I sought to take by using several key principles of persuasion - most notably, I used the principles of scarcity, liking, and authority.

To briefly recap what we 've learned this week, the persuasion

How many times have you done something for another person expecting that they 'll "return the favor" someday, only to not even receive a word of thanks? Using this principle establishes that both the speaker and the listener are expected to contribute something of some kind.

Scarcity is a particularly appealing principle. If one can convince another that they possess a rare or special item, the other will be motivated to rush to obtain it from you before it 's gone for good (McLean, 2010). Seasonal confections like hot-cross buns or cranberry bagels often have phrases like "available for a limited time only," in an attempt to persuade shoppers to buy these items now, because in a few months, when the season or holiday changes, they 'll be gone.

Authority is the principle which is used to suggest to receivers that one has immense expertise and knowledge on whatever subject or good they are trying to convince you about (McLean, 2010). For example, a polished speaker with a credible background in science may be more effective at convincing an audience about the issue of climate change than a television entertainer in a lab