Technique · Influence

One consistent voice of guidance

Make in-app tips, docs, checklists, support replies and AI answers agree on the recommended next step and settings. When guidance conflicts, users stop and do nothing; one clear voice keeps them moving.

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Plain label: consistent instructions everywhereAlso known as: consistent guidance, single source of truth, conflicting advice, contradictory instructions

How it works

Authority carries people through steps they would otherwise question, but only while it speaks with one voice: when two experimenters gave opposite instructions, every participant stopped. In onboarding, contradictory tips and docs create the same paralysis. Users unsure which instruction is right put off the action, and the step leaks.

In the book. Contradictory authorities dissolve obedience: when two researchers disagreed, every participant stopped (Ch.6, pp.161-162). INF-T-AU-13 (Influence Ch.6, p.161)

In a product [S]. One source of truth for recommended steps across tips, docs, support and AI.

Evidence Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.. The contradiction finding is striking but comes from a single research program.

Evidence warning

The obedience studies have been only partly replicated; the product rule rests on the contradiction finding, not on obedience levels.

What the research says

In variations of the obedience studies, participants stopped completely when two researchers disagreed about whether to continue.
Influence Ch.6, pp.161-162 (Milgram)

How to build it

Web: Keep recommended settings in one source that feeds tooltips, docs and support macros, and audit them quarterly for drift.
B2B: Give the customer's admin one onboarding plan, and have support and success teams refer to that plan by name.
Mobile: Make the in-app assistant draw on the same help articles the docs show, and flag answers that disagree with them.

What can go wrong

Stale help articles that contradict the new interface.
An AI assistant that improvises settings the docs do not recommend.

Pairs well with

Pairs with in-t-sp-15: a single, specific next step.
Pairs with GT#28 and GT#38: one obvious next action.

Keep reading

TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Ability first: find the missing ingredient before redesigning
behavior triage, ease first
For each drop-off, decide what was missing at that moment: the prompt (never saw it), motivation (saw it, didn't care) or ability (started, couldn't finish). Fix the cheapest missing piece, and check ability first, because making something easier is cheaper and faster than making people want it more.
TechniqueEvidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.
Remove steps between the trigger and the first reward
shorter path to value
List every step from the moment the need appears to the reward, then delete, merge, prefill or defer steps until the shortest path remains. The first reward should sit as close to the trigger as possible. Keep any step that protects the user.
TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Name the scarcest resource at each step, and benchmark the steps
friction audit
Walk the path from need to reward and count taps, screens, fields and seconds, for you and two competitors. At each step, name which of six resources the user is shortest of right then: time, money, physical effort, brain cycles, social comfort or routine. Turn the worst steps into three testable simplifications.
TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Reduce time: faster paths and smaller first doses
less waiting, shorter sessions
When time is the scarce resource, make the action fit the minutes the user has: fast loads, instant results, sessions that finish in a minute or two, and content split into small daily units with the most engaging part first.
TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Reduce physical effort: fewer taps, less typing
less typing and tapping
When the body is the bottleneck (a small screen, one hand, on the move), replace typing with autofill, scanning or voice, put targets in reach of the thumb, offer other modes such as audio, and give perishable moments a fast path from the lock screen or a notification.
TechniqueEvidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.
Reduce brain cycles: one clear next action
fewer decisions per screen
When users are new or unsure, give each screen and each message one primary action, preselect the common choice, and reveal options only when needed. Plain words, recognition over recall and a clean screen beat explanation.

Sources

Influence · Robert Cialdini
Ch.6, p.161

Source IDs: INF-T-AU-13

Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.

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How it works

What the research says

How to build it

What can go wrong

Pairs well with

Related

Ability first: find the missing ingredient before redesigning

Remove steps between the trigger and the first reward

Name the scarcest resource at each step, and benchmark the steps

Reduce time: faster paths and smaller first doses

Reduce physical effort: fewer taps, less typing

Reduce brain cycles: one clear next action

Sources

Find the stage your product is stuck in