Stories often provide proof by analogy

Most ads for mechanics will say they have great prices and do good work, but without really checking, it’s hard to know for sure. Ads aren’t always trustworthy, and people are generally skeptical of persuasion attempts. Stories solve this problem. They provide a quick and easy way for people to acquire lots of knowledge in a vivid and engaging fashion. You can think of stories as providing proof by analogy.

This happens partially because we’re so caught up in the drama of what happened to so-and-so that we don’t have the cognitive resources to disagree. We’re so engaged in following the narrative that we don’t have the energy to question what is being said. So in the end, we’re much more likely to be persuaded.

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Prepared by Martin Tutko
Martin is a Digital Product Designer with 19 years of experience working in UX Design and Digital Marketing industries. He enjoys researching and writing about user experience design, marketing and consumer behaviour. You can follow his writings here.