Troubleshooting Life 175, June 23 - Learn Nodder’s four levels of persuasion

(This is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Troubleshooting Life”)

My cousin graduating from high school today is a very happy moment.

He plans on going to medical school and becoming a doctor, which is awesome.

When I went home that night, I could not sleep.

Instead, I started studying Chris Nodder’s UX course and reading his book Evil by Design. (Amazon link)

Nodder writes that deception isn’t always bad.

Like the white lies parents tell their kids to get them to learn and grow, or fall asleep.

In fact, while I was reading the book, I remember being a teenager eating dinner with my uncle and aunt, and this same cousin who was then a kid.

He had a hard time eating his vegetables.

Then he saw me, his older cousin, make a big show of how much he enjoyed vegetables, to the joy of his parents who had been trying to get him to eat vegetables.

Then suddenly, the kid started eating more vegetables.

Not all deception is “evil.”

Perhaps you told a white lie earlier today.

Maybe it was to your parents, or your kids, or your manager, or your subordinates.

Nodder might describe this vegetable incident as motivational or charitable persuasion.

In his book, and on his website, he describes four levels of persuasion.

1. Commercial design persuades people for equal benefit to the user and designer.

2. Motivational design persuades to do something that benefits them in different scenarios.

3. Charitable design is a designer persuading for the good of society.

4. Evil design persuades to benefit the designer, often at the expense of the user.

ACTION POINT: Learn Nodder’s four levels of persuasion