Law of Obligation

 

The Law of Obligation states that it is “a strong need, even a push, to return a favor when someone does something for us.” In my own words, it is the act of doing a kind dead for someone and having a kind dead returned back to equal the debt. In my life, I have used this law a lot because when someone does a kind dead for me, I tend to feel guilty until I perform a kind dead back. I usually will use this law when I am in need of assistance from someone. Every time I use this law, it has been effective because it turns into a win-win situation. I receive help from someone and when the other person is in need of help, I will return the favor.

In my life, I have used the law of obligation many times pertaining to schoolwork. Throughout this school year, I haven’t had perfect attendance with all my classes and because of that; I will need to ask fellow classmates what had happened in those particular classes that I had t so that I don’t fall behind. In a particular case during the school year, I had a cold and fever that made me unable to go to classes due to the illness and the medication I was taking. Because I was going to miss some classes, I asked Madison if she could take notes and let me know what had happened in the classes I was going to miss. When Madison got sick and was unable to attend classes, I was obligated to help her out as well by taking notes and letting her know what was going on in those classes as well.

Another example that many families and people do is when going to another house for a party or gathering, they bring a dish of some sorts. Thanksgiving is a time where I feel many people are obligated to bring something to the feast. The main house that is hosting and preparing the turkey goes through a lot of work to make sure everything is right for that day. In conclusion, families that are invited usually will bring some sort of dish or desert because since they aren’t hosting, should feel obligated to contribute in some way.

My last example dates back a few months ago when I had attended the midnight premiere of “Anchorman 2.” In the theatre, they were having some complications with starting our movie so they asked us if we could go down the hall and watch the other screening of the movie. Before we went over, the worker gave everyone in the theatre two free movie tickets that we could use at any time. Having two free movie tickets, I felt strongly obligated to return to that movie theatre with or without free movie tickets because it showed customer satisfaction on their part.

Although the law of obligation is a nice win-win situation for both parties, it may not work every time. It may not work depending on the person or type of situation. Currently, I try to use this law of obligation in the workforce or at school. At school, I try being nice and helping out anyone whenever possible because you never know when you may need assistance from them. Lastly in the workforce, I try using my best customer service techniques because if I do, they will get the impressing that we as a company are nice to work with and they will want to bring business back to us in the future.

Law of Verbal Packaging

The Law of Verbal Packaging states within the textbook that “the more skillful you are in the use of language and vocal techniques, the more persuasive you will be.” In my own words, it is being able to persuade others based on our words to create perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions in what we believe in. In my life, I don’t believe I have used this law as much as I should have to persuade others. The reason behind not doing this is because I haven’t thought much of the concept of this law but after reading about it, I will strongly consider using more of it. As stated, I haven’t used this law but after knowing about it, I will strongly use it throughout the semester and in my life during speeches and when I am with customers at Men’s Warehouse. When working at Men’s Warehouse and using this, I believe it will help me be a more trustworthy sales associate and help sell certain products over others.

My first example of the law of verbal packaging is arguably one of the most famous American speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “I Have a Dream” speech. In this speech, he does a tremendous job taking his words and shaping the audience’s thoughts and feelings about segregation. He does this by using storytelling to paint a picture in the audience’s head and many vocal techniques. In this speech, the main reason why it is so powerful and notable is by his volume, articulation, pace, use of pauses, and lastly emphasis. Throughout much of the speech, he spoke in a clear and loud tone that flowed well and when main part of his speech approached or the audience would start getting loud, he did a fabulous job emphasizing parts of the speech and raising his pitch. In addition, he did a great job giving pauses in his speech to allow the audience to cheer. Overall, this speech was a great model of the law of verbal packaging and will continue to be showcased to future generations.

When working at Men’s Warehouse, I will at times use the verbal packaging to sell couples on a particular tuxedo over the other choices. After going through the interview process, I will have obtained all the particular information needed to get an idea of what the wedding will be like and a rough estimate on the temperature. When giving the couples a walkthrough of all of our choices, beforehand I will already have in my head which tuxedo(s) are the right ones. Although I don’t want to count out the other tuxedo choices, I usually quickly go through the features of those and maybe point out some negatives of the tuxedo that may appear in result to the information I had received about the wedding. When I finally come to the tuxedo(s) that I feel are appropriate, I will slowly characterize them and try and find attention grabbing words or phrases that will make the couple recognize why this tuxedo is the one to fit the wedding plan. When using this technique, usually it will be beneficial because couples see me as a professional at what I am doing but at some points, it won’t work due to pricing issues.

My last example of the law of verbal packaging is using vivid language and painting the picture to help persuade others. When being trained by Men’s Warehouse to book weddings, I was told many times to use vivid language and paint the picture with couples because it helps them get a clearer picture of what they want to look like as a whole. The first way I use this example in work is when figuring on what color dress shirt the males in the wedding will be wearing. In order to find this out, I ask the bride what color dress she is wearing and go from there. If she responds her dress is ivory or an off white, I will try persuading the couple in choosing an ivory dress shirt because if everyone wears white, in pictures, it will look like the wedding dress is dirty next to the gentleman. The next example I use is when the couples leave out their father or grandfathers from wearing tuxedos. When this occurs, I try and paint a picture of the father walking the bride down the aisle and all eyes are going to be on those particular people in that memorable scene. In addition, when there is a group photo of the wedding, I explain not to have individuals in their suits because they stand out in the picture were instead, the bride and groom should.

 

Law of Dissonance

The Law of Dissonance according to the book states, the idea that “people will naturally act in a manner that is consistent with their cognitions and commitments.” In my words, it is when humans do something that goes against their core values and beliefs and then try to justify why their actions don’t match up in order to stop feeling guilty and uncomfortable. I do not use this law often but the times I can remember, they pertain to my relationship with my girlfriend. When I am doing the same thing as my friends or another person, she will recognize that we both have done the same thing. From there, she will acknowledge my friends or another person but will not me. This makes me upset at times and I will say, “don’t you like me just as much or more? Why aren’t you giving me any recognition?” By doing this, I hope to have her feel a sense of dissonance. Throughout my life, I definitely have used this law as a child but as I have grown up, I haven’t had to encounter any situations where dissonance was used.

My next example is a scenario of a kid trying to be healthy. This kid decides that he is going to start to live healthy and change his eating habits. For a while, he does a good job until he has a bad day of school. When his parents come home from work, they see him lying on the couch eating a container of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Seeing this they ask the kid “Weren’t you supposed to be living a healthy lifestyle and not eating those sorts of foods?” The kid then responds by saying, “Oh well…. I had a bad day today at school and the only thing that makes me feel better is eating a container of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. In this particular scenario, the kid is telling lies to change his beliefs but actions aren’t.

My last example is when a father is shopping at the mall with his child to buy presents for numerous people for Christmas. When shopping, a woman ask the father with his child if every child deserves some sort of present for Christmas each year. With his child next to him, he proudly agrees and then the woman ask in response if he would be willing to donate a gift to an orphanage for little children who have no gifts. Being stuck in this situation and agreeing that all children should receive some gift each year for Christmas, he donates a gift. If he were to change his mind and not give a gift, he would be lying and changing his beliefs.