Book Recommendation #3: 'Influence' by Robert B. Cialdini

The Psychology of Persuasion

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini was a recommended read in the LinkedIn cohort I participated in earlier this year. I bought it and read it. This week I read it again and got more out it.

Robert Cialdini, is a psychologist and thought leader in the field of persuasion and influence. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. 

Cialdini spent three years ‘undercover’ studying at car-dealerships, fund-raising organisations and telemarketing firms to observe the real-life situations of persuasion.

He found six-key principles that form the basis of influence - reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. Later he added the 7th one - unity.

The book is a fascinating read.

Story after story Cialdini demonstrates how these principles play out almost universally.

Cialdini was hired, alongside many other behaviour scientists, for Barcak Obama’s (and in the early stages of Hillary Clinton’s) presidential campaigns.

Ten lessons I learned from this book:

1. The Law of Reciprocity is the biggest law in human psychology. People feel obliged to give back to others if they received a gift or service first. Just like I feel inclined to invite a person to a get-together I am hosting if they have invited me to their home. This is very useful in business. That’s the reason a free consultation, a free book, or free mini-course leads to people signing up for your high ticket offer.

2. We have a deep desire to be seen as consistent with our words, beliefs, attitudes and deeds. Once we make a choice or take a stand we feel pressure to behave consistently with that commitment.
   

3. We feel safety in numbers. For example, we’re more likely to work late, if others in our team are doing the same or try a new restaurant if it’s full of guests. We can leverage social proof to influence people by pointing out what others are doing, especially many others.
   

4. People respect authority. They want to follow the lead of real experts. Business titles, impressive clothing or even driving the high-priced car are proven factors in lending credibility to any individual. In practice, you can use the principle of authority by signalling to others what makes you a credible, knowledgeable authority before you make your influence attempt.
   

5. People prefer to say ‘yes’ to those they like. But what makes one person like another? Persuasion is more likely to happen when there are similarities in place, when we give compliments, and when we cooperate towards mutual goals. This principle can be particularly useful in sales and negotiation contexts.
   

6. “A well-known principle of human behaviour says that when we ask someone to do us a favour we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.”
   

7. The value of something increases when there’s scarcity. The limiting-time offers and hard-to-find goods are seen as more valuable and generate more demand.
   
   “The idea of potential loss plays a larger role in human decision-making. People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.” - Rober Cialdini
   

8. When you and your audience are part of a group, the influence you have over them increases significantly. The more we identify ourselves with others, the more we’re influenced by these others.
   
   “We like people who are similar to us. This fact seems to hold true whether the similarity is in the area of opinions, personality traits, background or life-style.” - Rober Cialdini
   

9. Well-told stories significantly enhance persuasive efforts. Stories are powerful because they engage the readers or listeners emotionally and cognitively, putting them in receptive state that makes persuasion more effective.
   

10. “Apparently we have such an automatically positive reaction to compliments that we can fall victim to someone who uses them in an obvious attempt to win our favour.” - Robert Cialdini

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (aff link) is a great book for anyone wanting to understand and employ the art of persuasion for marketing, sales, leadership roles or building good relationships in even everyday life.

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