Understanding human nature (Part 2)

Even when most human beings go through pretty much the same crisis points in life, each individual has a completely different set of experiences, situations and circumstances that makes him or her unique from others – or so we like to think.

Research has proven time after time that there are more similarities between humans than our minds feel comfortable accepting. Still skeptic? Take a look at the following list and tell me how many of these common human traits apply to you…

Common traits – Most people consider themselves:

• Reliable, dependable and hard-working
• Friendly and fun to be around
• They feel they’re not as satisfied as they could be
• They feel they’re not as recognized as they should be
• Considerate to others and with good people skills
• Honest and loyal to their friends and family
• Have a moderate amount of self-esteem
• Good problem solvers
• Proficient at completing tasks
• Adaptable to most situations
• Overall capable and generally smarter than others
• Good leaders (many think of themselves as natural leaders)
• Resourceful and skilled
• Good-natured
• Proficient in their communication skills
• Family-minded
• Likely to respond positively to flattery
• Likely to respond positively to enthusiasm
• They never question their own belief systems
• Have a deep fear of rejection
• Worry about what others think
• They all cherish the past, complaint about the present and fear the future
• They consider themselves good-intentioned, even when behavior is negative
• They want to make decisions that will make them look good in the eyes of others
• They think about sex far more than they will ever admit
• Almost everyone is afraid of growing old and dying
• Only those in some sort of pain work to change their status quo
• Most are not 100% satisfied at what they see in a mirror
• They will continue with a bad habit until it pains them
• They dislike the feeling of being controlled or manipulated
• They dislike doing things that don’t make sense to them
• They dislike change without a clear benefit or outcome

This list of human similarities is very powerful in the hands of an copywriter. Each and every one of these common traits can be used to make your advertising more powerful, more compelling and more human by building rapport and trust with your prospects. After all, statistics show that when prospects feel you “get them” they are much more likely to buy from you.