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You’ll be more likely to persuade your audience members if you avoid threatening their core beliefs. A core belief is a viewpoint that is held closely, often for many years. Such beliefs are particularly immune to persuasion—especially as a result of a single speech.²²

A belief that is not held quite so closely or for quite as long is a peripheral belief. People may form peripheral beliefs by hearing a news report, reading a book or magazine, or listening to a statement made by a political or religious leader. These beliefs are more open to change by a persuasive message. Thus, you can boost your chances of success if you focus your appeal on your listeners’ peripheral beliefs.

For example, suppose you want to persuade various groups of people at your college to devote one Saturday morning to work on a campus beautification project. You first address the Parkour Club, whose members usually practice their sport on Saturday mornings. (Parkour involves getting past obstacles efficiently using physical skills, such as running, climbing, or jumping, rather than going around them.) If you argue that Parkour is a pointless activity, you won’t likely gain volunteers, since you’d be attacking a core belief. On the other hand, the tradition of practicing on Saturday morning is more peripheral. You would have a better chance of winning these listeners’ support if you maintained that devoting just one Saturday morning to doing something to benefit the campus community would be a worthy cause—and that club members could practice afterward.