Priming for Success: How Timyo Sets The Tone for Productive Email

the science of priming behind productive email with timyo

We’ve talked a lot about how Timyo helps you use email to be more productive, but one of the subtler effects of Timyo is also one of my favorites, and it all comes down to the psychological effect known as “priming”.

What is priming?

Priming is a psychological effect that basically boils down to preparing someone to give a certain response or type of response by influencing them before that response is given.

A famous example is a study that showed that people were more likely to behave “warmly” (that is, positively, welcomingly or sympathetically) if they were asked to briefly hold a hot beverage before an interview, instead of a cold one.

Crazy, right?

Ghost in the machine.

Here’s a fun example of priming that we used to do as kids—though we definitely didn’t know there was a fancy psychological name for it:

Please say out loud ten times (but maybe quietly to yourself so as not to weird out people within earshot) the word “ghost”.

Go ahead, I’ll wait. As a show of solidarity, I will also type the word “ghost” ten times…

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

There. Now, answer the following question:

What do you put in a toaster?

You said “toast”, right? Totally understandable. But think about it for a second: what do you actually put in a toaster?

Not toast, probably, unless you like really burnt toast. The right answer is probably “bread”. But you can feel the pull of the word “toast” after saying “ghost” ten times in quick succession.

This is priming, or at least one small example of it.

“Priming” is the idea in psychology that, by exposing people to a stimulus—like, for example, the word “ghost”—you can influence the way they behave. For example, answering the simple question: “What do you put in a toaster?”

What could this possibly have to do with email?

Timyo sets the tone.

This is where Timyo comes in. By offering an example of productive email in the first place:

the science of priming applied to email with Timyo example 1

…Timyo helps you set the tone for productive email. Even if they’ve never used or even heard of Timyo before, seeing a clear request made with firm but polite words will make your correspondents more likely to answer in a productive way.

When your interaction with someone clearly and simply says:

the science of priming applied to email with Timyo example 2

It tells the recipient exactly what sort of response is requested.

No wasted words or beating around the bush: just a clean, clear, polite request.

Timyo lets you tell everyone you email with: “I value your time. So let’s get down to business.”

By signaling that you value your correspondents’ time, you increase the odds that they’ll value yours as well.

And that is email at its finest.

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