It's OK for your messaging to acknowledge small vulnerabilities

On the Power of Owning Your Shortcomings

Dr. Robert Cialdini's books Influence and Pre-Suasion are both good reads. 

Throughout this election season, I was thinking about a counterintuitive concept from his work: how admitting drawbacks or small challenges can increase your credibility and authority.¹

That’s why Avis acknowledged it wasn’t the top car rental company but focused on its strength in customer service. This campaign boosted their sales by 300%.²

Building Credible Authority

One of Cialdini's principles of influence is authority. People are likelier to follow the lead or advice of those they perceive as knowledgeable and credible in a given field. 

One way to boost your authority is by admitting shortcomings. When you admit to a mistake or weakness, you demonstrate honesty, transparency, self-awareness, and confidence in your abilities. People like these qualities in other people and organizations!

The Strategic Pivot

The key to making this work is in the execution.

1. Briefly admit to a mistake or shortcoming (be ethical and honest, but don’t dwell here)

2. Quickly pivot to highlighting your strengths

This combo is effective because your audience is more likely to believe your strengths after you establish credibility by admitting a flaw. 

Cialdini shared a good example of this in action in his Stanford Social Innovation Review article The Power of Persuasion from 2003:

How does Greengrants employ this rule? Consider this blurb, which appears on the fund’s Web site, explaining its grantmaking model: “It is hard for grantmakers to identify grassroots groups in remote areas; it is hard to transfer funds; and it is hard to monitor grantee progress. Combined, these obstacles can make grassroots grantmaking a challenging enterprise.”

At first glance, such an admission may seem strange. After all, Greengrants needs donors to fund it, despite the challenging odds. The admission, however, is followed quickly with a positive assertion: “Global Greengrants Fund has created a highly efficient and reliable system for finding and funding local grassroots environmental groups. By forming an international network of advisory boards for specific regions and environmental issues, we streamline our grantmaking and help link our advisors and grantees in a community that can share knowledge, viewpoints, and strategies.”

Some examples from my work in education include special education services, community engagement, school culture/discipline, and after-school extracurricular opportunities. I’ve seen various groups I’ve worked with improve in these areas over time. They could reasonably say, “When we first started out, we didn’t do a great job of XYZ. But we’ve doubled down on this and made great strides.”

It takes immense vulnerability to acknowledge early growing pains or challenges publicly. But by recognizing early challenges or setbacks and then emphasizing their commitment to improvement and achievements in that area, they can get good information out into the world and enhance their audience's openness to their ideas.

Comms and messaging don’t have to present a flawless image. The willingness to admit drawbacks can set you apart by building trust, establishing credibility, and, ultimately, increasing your influence.

1. Not because I witnessed this in action by any candidate (ever), but by the clear absence and lethal toxicity of just the idea of admitting shortcomings

2. L'Oréal’s famous “Because I’m worth it” acts similarly by acknowledging that it’s the most expensive hair color product. "I use the most expensive hair color in the world. Preference, by L'Oréal. It's not that I care about money. It's that I care about hair. What's worth to me is the way my hair feels. It feels good against my neck. Actually, I don't mind spending more for L'Oréal. Because I'm worth it."