We hate being manipulated or told what to do and how to do it, even if it's for a good cause. Although people love a degree of guidance, this is dwarfed by the loss of choice. Luckily, unnoticed change works brilliantly. Although some people would say it's a deadly sin to even try such techniques, I will show you that it's possible.
Soon, I will tell you a story about a lucky dwarf, but first a quick trick. Think of a number between one and ten! Don't think much about it, just make a mental note of the first number that came to your mind; my bet is that it's the number seven. Did it work?
I learned this trick from the mind reader and author Nick Kolenda. This is probably the best example of priming I have ever encountered. There is no mind reading or magic involved. Nick's trick works, because of the exposure to certain words in that paragraph, notably dwarf, lucky, and deadly sin. Even a subtle exposure to those concepts will activate a schema or a thought...