Moneynomist “Seize the Advantage” Series of Workshops: The Benjamin Franklin Effect

The following article is expanded from points based on my slide notes for my 30-minute workshop, “The Benjamin Franklin Effect”, which is about the psychology of why people are inclined, or disinclined towards each other.  This is part of the wider Moneynomist “Seize the Advantage” programme, along with Eric Tan Shi Wei, Gerald Yong Kim Heong, Margrette Lo Foong Quan, Oh Cheng Kok, and Zhuo Shu Zhen.  The Moneynomist team is from AIA Toastmasters Club, and are all past presidents. 

My job normally involves talking, negotiating, closing.  The intent of the application of this is to create the conditions to effect a sale, create a breakthrough in negotiation, or foster better working relationships.  When we understand this psychological phenomenon, and how to apply it, we are able to create the conditions for our success. 

I am introducing a concept that is complicated, and not easily understood.  However, once mastered, it is an invaluable tool in sales, and in building relationships.  As such, we will cover the definition, the application, and the scenarios so that we have a better grasp of the Benjamin Franklin Effect. 

It is always important for us to begin with definitions.  Definitions set the parameters of what we discuss, and establish a common understanding before building on that knowledge.  Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.), the Persian theologian said, to the effect, that before we even speak of a cup, we should understand what a cup is.  What we are covering here is more than a mere cup. 

The Benjamin Franklin effect is a proposed psychological phenomenon, a form of cognitive dissonance.  In essence, when people do us a favour, they are more likely to have a good opinion of us.  We tend to think people do favours because they like us, and that may be true for some.  However, in business, people like us because of the favours we make them do for us. 

This effect is named after Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  who is quoted in his autobiography, “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.”  This is explained with an example in Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography regarding the animosity of a rival legislator when they both served in the Pennsylvania legislature in the 18^th century.  He wrote, “Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious book, I wrote a note to him, expressing my desire of perusing that book, and requesting he would do me the favour of lending it to me for a few days.  He sent it immediately, and I returned it in about a week with another note, expressing strongly my sense of the favour.  When we next met in the House, he spoke to me (which he had never done before), and with great civility; and he ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all occasions, so that we became great friends, and our friendship continued to his death.” 

If anybody has ever read Benjamin Franklin’s biography, one could conclude that he was not a particularly likeable person.  He drank too much at times, he was a womaniser, a bit of a braggart, and he could not keep a secret to save his life.  The latter was so concerning that his own government of the time was known to keep things from him because of his loose lips.  And yet, it is remarkable that he was liked by more than a few, and this is one of the reasons why.  If he can do it, so can we. 

There are three areas where we can apply this piece of information: in networking, in prospecting for clients, and in closing that deal or completing that negotiation.  These three scenarios encompass almost every situation we could possibly find ourselves in. 

Networking is what we do all the time, whether we realise it or not.  It is part of the gregarious nature of people, that even the greatest loner needs to be validated by at least one other person.  Prospecting is where we market ourselves.  This is what we do in every social situation.  Closing the deal is where we get an accord on any issue. 

Networking, here, is confined to meeting new people in specific contexts, attending events, and connecting in non-physical environments.  We have to consider the places we meet people, and how we meet them. 

In every situation, we must understand that people want to be recognised, to be aggrandised, to be elevated.  However, that flattery must feel sincere.  Insincere flattery creates hostility since people become suspicious.  To apply the Benjamin Franklin Effect, we must cultivate the habit of asking people for small, innocuous favours first.  This can be seen in night clubs where people borrow cigarettes and lighters.  It is meant to create that bond.  But when you borrow it, you must give it back.  Otherwise, you do not create that bond.  You are taking.  People change their attitudes or behaviour to resolve dissonance between their thoughts, attitudes, and actions.  In this case, they rationalise that since they did you a favour, they must like you and adjust their attitude accordingly. 

The effect when you do a favour for someone who dislikes you is that they feel beholden to you for that kindness.  The ego is manifest, and it increases their dislike due to this “burden” places upon them.  In such a case, it creates distance, not nearness.  This is why we sometimes, instinctively dislike people we view as overly generous, and question their motives.  It seems unnatural to us that people merely give, without asking in return.  We are only able to put this aside in specific circumstance, such as religious people.  Then, the power dynamic is reversed, and they give to ask more in return.  It is still transactional, but in a way we fool our conscience. 

Prospecting may be in a corporate context, in a social network, or even in a public event.  We have to understand the psychology of favours.  When you do people a favour, it does not create closeness, but distance.  When you do your friend a major favour the first time, there is gratitude.  When you do constant favours, it creates resentment because the dynamics of the relationship becomes apparent, and it is a power play.  People do not like to feel beholden, to feel helpless, to feel constantly indebted. 

In any public context, where there is an audience, we must be careful to make the other person feel like they hold the advantage in the power dynamic.  We must understand that our goal is to achieve the objective, not to exercise any form of superiority.  This is why we ask for favours.  It is meant to create the illusion that the other person has a higher position in the power dynamic of the relationship, when the actual intent is to create a favourable impression, and get him to like you.  It is about illusion versus reality. 

On this point, what can you “borrow” from a prospect?  It need not be anything physical.  We borrow credibility by quoting them.  We borrow their achievements by remembering them.  People want to be acknowledged.  That means remembering their names, and remembering it correctly.  It means, for example, remembering who gave which speech.  People want that sort of fleeting immortality.  We give it, but we must ensure it sounds sincere, if we cannot be sincere. 

Finally, just as we plan for failure, we must also plan for success.  This means getting it over the line, addressing hesitation, and making it their idea.  The last part is very important.  We have to consider, how many of us have problems with people? 

The Benjamin Franklin Effect is a useful tool for resolving tension.  There is always some element of initial tension in the initial signing.  This is especially so when large numbers are involved, and we need to prepare for cold feet.  This is about getting that deal over the line, so to speak.  By creating that cognitive dissonance, we force the issue.  When someone decides that they like us, when they have been convinced that it is their idea, they are not going to gainsay themselves and back down. 

When we shape the conversation, we plant the seeds that this was their idea, that this is in their interest, that they are the main drivers of it.  This works when it is actually true, because people do not, for the most part, know what they want, or what is actually good for them.  This is how policy making is done on a national scale.  What we see after every election is the Benjamin Franklin Effect at work on a larger audience.  The people have voted in the candidate and the party.  The winners proclaim this a mandate, and then use it to do what they wanted to anyway, regardless of the will of the electorate.  Done correctly, the electorate believes that this is what they voted for anyway. 

In summary, what we have touched in, here, is a mere introduction to the Benjamin Franklin Effect, and some suggested applications in a selling context.  As we understand more about human psychology, we learn that people are eminently predictable, and entirely susceptible to manipulation.  Just as we understand how this phenomena works, we also learn how it has worked on us before, for better or for worse.