{"id":2057,"date":"2016-09-15T16:36:01","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T20:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2016-09-28T17:58:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T21:58:26","slug":"encourage-greatness-try-altercasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.florist20.com\/blog\/business-tips\/encourage-greatness-try-altercasting","title":{"rendered":"Want to Encourage Greatness? Try Altercasting!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have a sales person who never pitches any grand, high-end arrangements? A designer prone to stuffing? A manager reluctant to handle disputes?<\/p>\n

If your employees are lacking in initiative, demonstrating conduct you\u2019d like to change, consider altercasting.\"Little<\/p>\n

I recently learned this term in a Wall Street Journal article<\/a>, though I’ve long been familiar with the practice. It\u2019s a persuasion technique that involves characterizing someone as a certain type of person (say, \u201ca talented sales person,\u201d \u201ca scrupulous designer\u201d or \u201can apt mediator\u201d) in order to nudge him or her to behave in a desired manner.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve likely observed or engaged in altercasting at some point. Psychologists say it\u2019s very common among advertisers, fundraisers, parents, spouses, teachers, etc.\u00a0It follows the principle that people respond better to kindness\/encouragement\/praise than criticism.<\/p>\n

There are two types of altercasting.<\/p>\n

In \u201cmanded\u201d altercasting, you openly state a role for the other person. (\u201cSusan, you have such a beautiful vocabulary. The way you describe the colors and textures of a\u00a0floral arrangement is so enticing. You\u2019re the perfect person to help me sell some premium designs with the cymbidium orchids that just came in today!\u201d)<\/p>\n

In \u201ctact\u201d altercasting, you don\u2019t say anything but change your behavior to suggest a role to the other person. (My father does this with my mother when it comes to packing for vacations. He\u2019ll start to throw clothes haphazardly on the bed and she\u2019ll inevitably get frustrated and take over.) Although annoying, it\u2019s different from being passive aggressive, which involves indirect hostility.<\/p>\n

For the sake of running a flower shop, it\u2019s probably best to stick to manded altercasting, as the latter could come off as clumsy or confusing. Who among us would want employees questioning our competency?<\/p>\n

The WSJ gives these tips for using altercasting:<\/p>\n