Subtlety is the quality of a message being important, but not obvious. Messages that are more subtle are more persuasive than direct messages.

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Features of the message itself that affect persuasion include subtlety, sidedness, and timing, as well as whether both sides are presented.

Features of the Persuasive Message

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Effect of Message Subtlety on Persuasion

Message sidedness refers to having more than one side, such as whether both sides of an argument are presented in a persuasive message.

Message Sidedness

The timing of a persuasive message affects its influence. Arguments that occur first, such as in a debate, are more influential if messages are given back-to-back. However, if there is a delay after the first message, and before the audience needs to make a decision, the last message presented will tend to be more persuasive.

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