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Bonaventure Koh

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COM 231 C

Describe the three most important lessons that you have learned thus far, about the influence process from this course.

Ah! With a blink of the eye and a somersault into the skies, I am already midway through Fall semester, and more importantly, close to the halfway mark of my university journey. School has been interesting thus far, with all my fun loving and at times retarded school mates around me. Like how a rainbow made up of so many different colors blend in well together, our different personalities actually complement each other. From wimpy Andrew to serious Ken, study-super-last-minute-but-score-well Tab to goody-two-shoes Nic. Not forgetting I-only-aim-for-full-marks-for-my-exam study freaks Bryan, Lucas and Nico. We are just like ingredients from Rojak that are only pleasant to eat when mixed together. These are the people that make me want to go for class week in and out. The l4d times, bare-it-all sessions, and not forgetting drinking sessions have truly been memorable. Aside from these fun and unforgettable times that being in UB has brought me, I have also learnt many lessons from my modules I have taken so far. In my current persuasion module, I have also learnt theories and techniques that relate to my everyday life.

First up the list is the Martin Luther King Jr ‘I have a Dream’ speech. Prior to persuasion class, I had only heard or read about it, but never had the chance to hear it. The speech was so breathtaking and inspirational that it literally swept me of my feet (even though I was sitting down at the point of time). In particular, the tone and indefinite metaphors used contributed to the desired effect of the public speech. Like what Dr. Sachs put it, ‘You gotta be heartless if you do not feel anything after hearing the speech!’ I feel that in order to be a accomplished public speaker, one only has to learn from this speech which has been dubbed by most as the ‘most influential public speech of all times’. On a side note, I will probably learn the speech by hard when I am running for elections in the not too distant future.

Secondly, I have also learnt that the effect of persuasion is related to the level of attractiveness you perceive the other party to be. I was quite surprised when I heard this as I would never ever in a million years thought of persuasion in this manner. Thus, I did some soul searching after this lesson and found this was actually true. Embarrassed I might be to say, I must admit that more often than not, I have found myself succumbing to the requests of members of the opposite sex whom I have deemed attractive. To illustrate, my willingness to drop my loose change into the tins of Flag Day volunteers who are unattractive has been found wanting as compared to when a pretty or cute girl asks me to make a donation for their Flag day. Please do not snigger to yourself when you read this. I am sure you too have been willing ‘victims’ of members of the opposite sex whom you have deemed attractive.

Lastly, another lesson which I have learned in persuasion class is the techniques of persuasion. The foot-in-the-door technique has been proven to be very effective time and again if used appropriately. Just today, my friends and I were walking around Bugis when we decided to have steamboat for dinner. As there were many different steamboat selections to choose from around the area, we were spoilt for choice. As the saying goes, ‘Too many choices do us more harm than good’. Finally, we saw a signboard in bright purple which literally screamed, ‘$17.80 only for Adults!’ Satisfied with what we saw, we walked into the shop thinking that we had found the cheapest place to have steamboat. The menu came and right on top of it was ‘Additional $5 for soup’. In other words, the five dollars was mandatory. Like hello! Who eats steamboat without any soup? Thinking that it was only an additional five dollars more and being typical Singaporeans, not wanting to feel embarrassed by walking out just because of it, we decided to carry on with our steamboat plan. This was just the first ‘step’ into the door and we had just been unknowing victims of the foot-in-the-door technique. After dinner, where we ate our hearts out, we proceeded to the counter to foot the bill. The receipt showed an additional 10% for service charge. I had initially thought that there was no service charge as it was not stated on the signboard which we saw before we came in. However, thinking that it was only slightly more and partly also because we had to pay since we had already eaten, we footed the bill without any further qualms. Yes, they were sneaky, but were not in the wrong. From this illustration, it can be seen that persuasion techniques when used at the appropriate times, can be very effective. The lesson I have learnt in class and experienced it firsthand has certainly taught me so.

Of course, there were many other lessons learned in persuasion class which I felt were useful too. Like the readings given to me stating the current situation of teenagers in the US. They are not as smart as I thought them to be. All in all, persuasion class has truly been an exciting class with much stuff that can be applied to one’s everyday life. The same can be said of school and my school mates. I am so not looking forward to graduation day.