“Even when highly motivated and able, we need a little reminder to make us act”
In order for us to act, we must 1) be sufficiently motivated, 2) have the ability to perform the behavior, and 3) be triggered to perform the behavior (based on B.J Fogg’s 2009 paper describing his Fogg Behavioral Model). Even when we have both the ability and the motivation to perform a desired behavior, we need a “signal, reminder, alert, etc.” – in other words: a trigger or nudge in order to act.

When motivation and ability are high, these reminders, signals and alerts should not …

“Often our motivation – and thereby actions – can be ignited rather easily”
When something is really easy to do, but our motivation isn’t very high, we tend do nothing. However, ‘sparking triggers’ can rather easily boost our motivation, and thereby do make us act.

A ‘Sparking Trigger’ will make us act when:

We notice it,
it levers one or more relevant motivations and, most importantly,
the trigger occurs at a moment when we are both motivated and able to perform that behavior.

Clarifying example:
B.J Fogg uses the following example for sparking triggers: he hadn’t used a Facebook account in a while, so Facebook automatically …

“Often our ability to act – and thereby our acting – can be ignited rather easily”
When we have a high motivation but lack ability, a ‘Facilitating Trigger’ can make us act. A facilitator not only triggers us, but also makes the intended behavior easier to do.

An effective facilitator explains how easy the desired behavior is to do (boosting self-efficacy), and will directly lead to the desired result (response efficacy).
Two clarifying examples:
As a demonstration of Facilitating Triggers, B.J Fogg uses the example of software updates. These use facilitators more and more often to gain compliance by implying that “one click …