Show the positive thing first.

The most important lesson I learnt this year is that being positive has immense benefits.

As software engineers, designers, product managers, and people who care about a thing, we almost always see the negative aspects of everything we build—the flaws, subtle imperfections, and potential issues. This is subconsciously transferred to the products we build; we build products that tell you where things are wrong, and we believe this is our product's superpower—finding the details and issues you missed.

But what if we didn't do this? What if we first showed people all the amazing positive things?

I joined the Planning Data programme at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government a few months ago to make land and housing data easier to find, use, and trust. The team I joined collects planning and housing data from local planning authorities (LPAs) and transforms it into a consistent state across England. This allows anyone to view, download, and analyse the data we hold, enabling innovation, faster decision-making, and better overall outcomes for everyone.

When I first looked through the product, I noticed a consistent theme of showing users where things were wrong. We would show LPAs the errors in the data first, often not even playing back the data they provided. As I was new to the project, I thought this was what the product was meant to do - but something didn't bode well, so I started researching theories that may explain why my intuition was suggesting otherwise.

The compliment sandwich

When giving negative feedback, my old CEO once told me to "always sandwich it with positive things before and after the feedback." I always assumed this technique worked with human interactions, but I never thought it would apply to human-computer interactions.

Several psychological theories and research studies explain why presenting positive information before negative (as in "sandwiching" or "two-sided messaging") can be effective. These theories include the Primacy Effect, Inoculation Theory, and Two-Sided Persuasion.

Primacy Effect

The Primacy Effect refers to the psychological phenomenon whereby information presented first tends to be remembered and weighted more heavily than later information. In product messaging, when introducing positive features, they tend to stick in the consumer's mind, making them more accepting of the negatives that follow.

Example: If customers hear about a product's great benefits first, they are more likely to retain those benefits in their memory, and the negatives will seem less significant or impactful in comparison.

Inoculation Theory

Developed by social psychologist William McGuire, the Inoculation Theory suggests that people are more resistant to negative persuasion if they are first exposed to a weaker version of the opposing argument. When marketers use two-sided messaging (acknowledging both positives and negatives), they "inoculate" consumers against the negative aspects by making them aware of the potential drawbacks in a controlled way but softening their impact by leading with positives.

Example: By admitting that a product has a flaw after emphasizing its strengths, consumers may perceive the message as more trustworthy and resist being persuaded by competitors trying to exploit it.

Two-Sided Persuasion

Research in Two-Sided Persuasion suggests that when companies acknowledge a product's positives and negatives, they tend to increase credibility. However, to maximize effectiveness, the negatives should be minor compared to the positives and presented in a way that does not outweigh the benefits.

Example: If a company advertises a product by highlighting its strengths (e.g., "fast performance") and then follows with a minor negative (e.g., "but it uses more battery power"), consumers might view the message as more honest and balanced, and ultimately find the product more appealing.

A car salesperson won't show you the dents first

The easiest way for me to remember this theory is to think about every time I interacted with a car salesperson. They would always tell me about all the amazing features, the additional extras purchased (like upgraded sound systems), and how much space the boot had. They would almost never tell me that the car hadn't been serviced for over three years or that there was a small dent on the side—if they did, they would never sell a single car.

Don't forget the negative

To build trust, you can't act like a car salesperson. You need to balance the positive with the negative, but your product doesn't need to be focused on the negative. First, give the user a positive outcome with little to no friction, then let them naturally find the negative things.

Show the positive thing first.