You think you’re in control, right?
You are not.
Now I’m going to tell you something and you certainly won’t think about it. Deal? No thinking.
Red Elephant
What happened to our deal? Maybe you didn’t think of something like the one below, but you did. Here’s a little proof that our brain isn’t listening to us.
Don’t feel too bad. Of course, we are not like robots that do everything we are told, but for hundreds of thousands of years, our brains give some automatic responses to protect the life form (you) to which it is attached.
By examining these mechanisms, we will try to understand what, how people react and why. And in order to get the reactions you want – let’s be clear – we will examine what you can do to persuade people. Almost all the information I give you here will be based on academic research and reference information all over the world.
Old Brain / Reptilian Brain
We will not talk about hypothalamus, thalamus, cortices, amygdala in detail. Our lesson is not biology, but there are very important topics in terms of target points of persuasion ability. We should talk about these.
Old brain; the part that formed during one of the earliest stages of evolution and has since assumed our basic survival functions. Important functions such as eating, breathing, sleeping, moving, emotions and memory are managed here. Just focus on the word survival. It’s such an ancient and so fundamental structure that it overwhelms other parts of the brain. It is about 450 Million years old.
I’m just saying the last thing I’m going to say. This is the part of our brain that decides, the old brain. The part that decides, not thinks. Research shows that 95% of the old brain is listened to in our decision-making. This is a seriously high number. In other words, you present the magnificent features of the product you sell on the website to your customers with huge tables. That table only appeals to the 5% of the brain. Because the word of the rational brain is only heard so much in the palace of the brain, which has gold-plated furniture.
The old brain is not rational. It is fast. It looks, if it is impressed, if it sees it necessary, it immediately decides to take a step. You may not even realize that you have already made a decision. You think you have pressed that famous button by thinking and evaluating.
Midbrain; This is the part where emotions are processed. So it feels. Everything you can call emotion is evaluated here.
New brain; rational thought part. It evaluates all the data and tries to influence the decision rationally. The reason why it’s called new is obvious. Because it was formed in the last stages of evolution. We take pride in our reasoning, so we think the new brain is always in the captain’s seat. No, it is not.
The strongest element of the decision mechanism is the old brain. When making a decision %95 of the old brain is listened to in our decision-making.
Words and Writing
No matter how old and sophisticated they may seem to us, words have been in our lives for 40,000 years. Written words are only 10,000 years old. Will their 450 million-year-old brothers listen to these young people? Of course he’s not listening. So the old brain, the decision-making brain, is not concerned with written or spoken words. It is not affected by them. Maybe a little.
I’m sure it didn’t make you smile to learn how little impact those information pages had on your products and services that you’re proud of. Do not worry. I’ll tell you what language the old brain spoke. We’ll sit down and talk to him and shake hands.
Do you know why these are so important? Because there is a person you want to listen to what you say, you want them to believe in you, you want them to buy your product, and you want to convince them for a reason. And whoever this person is, from any state, nation, color, belief, culture… he understands the language of the old brain and listens to it first.
Think about it. When you learn a language, you can communicate with anyone who speaks that language. If you can decipher the language of the brain, there is no person you cannot communicate with.
Conclusion
No matter what world you are in, digital or physical, the brain governs all your interactions with people. The old (reptilian) brain, the oldest part of our brain, is the manager of the decision mechanism that affects not only our work but also our entire life. Many of the decisions we make happen subconsciously. This sounds worrisome, but it’s also magical.
If we can learn ways to address the old brain without neglecting other parts, we will find a way to communicate with the person in front of us in a deep and healthy way. This unquestionably enhances the lived experience.
Neuromarketing has also been developed in the light of these facts. It's easy to ask a person, 'What do you think about this?' and get an answer. But the way to tell the brain, 'What do you think about this?' is Neuromarketing.
References :
Renvoise, Patrick (2016). Neuromarketing : Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer’s Brain MediaCat.