Framing effect

The framing effect is the change in how much something is worth, or how it feels, when the same fact is presented against a different comparison.

How it works

Value is never judged in isolation. It is judged against a comparison the customer did not choose, and changing the comparison changes the price the same object commands without touching the object. A hotel room described by what it is near rather than how big it is commands a premium nobody had to build. A unit of measurement that answers the buyer's real question sells a machine the specification could not. The cheapest lever in most businesses is the frame, and it is invisible to the people holding the budget because a frame has no number attached.

What it changes for a personal brand

Describe what you do in terms of the thing your reader is standing next to when they decide, such as the hour they were about to lose or the decision they are stuck on, rather than in terms of your format or your credentials. You are not adding anything. You are choosing the shelf you are compared on.

Where it shows up on this site