Sentences are more persuasive when written in present tense, claims study

It has turned out that content written in the present tense online is significantly more persuasive.

A study by the University of Toronto, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, has revealed the reason behind it. The study states that the message seems more concrete and specific in present-tense sentences. This helps readers better understand and visualise the content.

"The more vivid something is, the more real and true it seems," says Sam Maglio, co-author of the study and professor of marketing and psychology at U of T Scarborough.

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"The past and the future aren't as vivid as the present. In the present tense, you as the reader take a journey with the speaker and you become immersed.”

Maglio collaborated with David Fang, a Stanford University doctoral candidate and University of Toronto alumnus.

Together, they analysed millions of Amazon reviews spanning various product categories.

By assessing the usage of past, present, and future tenses in each review and correlating it with upvotes, they discovered an interesting trend.

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Reviews predominantly having present tense verbs received higher helpfulness ratings when compared to those with more past or future tense verbs.

The trend was noticeable even after involving participants in the rating process. Notably, when the researchers introduced a geographical context, reviews from Canada showed an enhancement in perceived helpfulness with present tense verbs, whereas reviews from Australia showed minimal impact based on verb tense.

"Reviews are maximally helpful when they are right here and they're right now because the closer the reader can come to seeing it, touching it, making it palpable, the more they believe it and the more they trust it," says Maglio, who is cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management.

To further establish the link between present tense and persuasiveness, the researchers made a donation pitch to about 400 people in different tenses.

The participants were told that they were entered in a lottery with a $50 payout and then asked what percentage of their winning they would be willing to give to the charity.

The average donation figure fared near 28 per cent when pitched in future or past tenses. However, it jumped to 38 per cent when present tense was used.

"People might not even notice the difference between these verb tenses, but it doesn't mean that they're not impacting how we think," Maglio says.

(With inputs from agencies)