Before we ‘think’ in a deliberate way, we link. The mind connects the present cue to whatever sits nearest in memory—images, feelings, categories—and those links shape judgment.
Associations work like defaults. If a message arrives while concepts like safety, trust, or threat are active, it gets interpreted through those concepts. The same words can land as reasonable or risky depending on what was activated first.
This is why subtle pairings matter: proximity in time and space can turn into proximity in meaning. Repeated pairings harden into automatic expectations.
To pre-suade is to curate associations: decide what you want people to connect you with, then arrange the environment so that connection is the easiest one for their minds to make.