smosa/adam
/cothinking
/core-concepts
/closed-claims
/


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If you're a parent of picky children, instead of telling them they need to eat their vegetables, try putting them in control by giving them the choice, "What do you want me to make you for dinner: broccoli or green beans?" Children (and really anyone for that matter) are more likely to cooperate because they feel they are given the freedom to call the shots. We're also introducing ../constraining. Constraints are a type of omission and humans are talented at failing to notice them. If the child doesn't want broccoli or green beans, throw in a few more choices in there. This technique is an example of the closed claim. We don't try to persuade the child to eat vegetables at all. Instead, we act as if the matter was already settled, moving into the next order of business, which one?

We see this technique in sales as well. When you rent a car online, you're shown a page asking you which coverage option you'd like. Do you want a high deductible or a low one? What about liability? Scrolling to the bottom, you see the small inconspicuous text reading "No thank you" next to the brightly colored button screaming "Add coverage." If you're one of the many holders of a credit card which already has these protections built in as part of your annual fee, hopefully you won't miss the fact you're being persuaded by the closed claim.

The closed claim resembles a concept from Arthur Schopenhauer in his 1831 work The Art of Being Right: 38 Ways to Win an Argument. In 1831, Schopenhauer called his version "Postulate what needs to be proved." In my own reworking, the closed claim focuses on the trickery of implanting a claim while erasing any trace of doing so.

Imagine going to a restaurant and seeing a sign on the door saying "no rats!" How do you feel about the rat problem at this restaurant now versus before seeing this sign?

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