Credibility: Let them prove it to themselves

People don’t really buy into case studies. They are simply looking for a context into which they can plug their own particulars, then run through and test for themselves. So the best credibility is that which people create for themselves by asking and answering questions in the context of your story. For example, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Ronald Reagan, 1980. No matter the reality, most people answer that question in the negative. That lent credibility to Reagan’s position.

Sources of credibility:

• The best proof is that which the listener proves to himself (see Reagan example). Make claims that are easy for listeners to test, like “Where’s the Beef?!” They can go to any Wendy’s restaurant and look for themselves.
  

• “I saw it with my own eyes!” Provide opportunities for listeners to see, hear, touch, taste, and feel, for themselves. Want to sell corn? Feed them corn bread.
  

• Contrite or antiauthority: Cancer patient warning us not to smoke.
  

• Details lend credibility…he couldn’t have made up all those details, it must be true! But don’t make it complicated (SIMPLE) or attempt to clear up miscommunication by adding more detail (CONCRETE).
  

• When using facts and statistics, bring it to a human scale. For example, illustrate a big number with an equivalent amount of BB’s in can, and shake it. Rather than talking about billions in the world, talk about hundreds in my neighborhood.

• Involve your audience. Tell a scary story or an apt anecdote, no matter how statistically insignificant the occurrences. It will make your major point seem real.
  

• Using experts to lend credibility is less effective than you may think. Listeners often don’t understand what makes the person an expert. So the listener has to take your word for it that the person is an expert. And you’re no expert. Nobody cares what degrees people have. A human-scale story by a peer to your listener will convince the listener more than the insights from an expert.