Amazon.com ReviewReview
Arguably the best book ever on what is increasingly becoming the science of persuasion. Whether you're a mere consumer or someone weaving the web of persuasion to urge others to buy or vote for your product, this is an essential book for understanding the psychological foundations of marketing. Recommended. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
For markters, this book is among the most important books written in the last ten years. (Journal of Mariketing Research)
Influence should be required reading for all business majors. (Journal of Retailing)
This book will strike chords deep in the hearts and psyches of all of us. (Best Sellers Magazine)
The material in Cialdini’s Influence is a proverbial gold mine. (Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology)
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Biography
Harvard Business Review lists Dr. Cialdini’s research in “Breakthrough Ideas for Today’s Business Agenda.” Influence has been listed on the “New York Times Business Best Seller List.”
Fortune Magazine lists Influence in their “75 Smartest Business Books.” CEO Read lists Influence in their “100 Best Business Books of All Time.”
Harvard Business School
Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation.
His books including, Influence, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests. Influence has sold over 3 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been published in over 30 languages. His co-authored books include Yes! and The Small Big. His newest book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, is the result of many years of scientific research combined with Cialdini’s engaging style to make each chapter memorable and meaningful. It will be released on September 6th, 2016.
Because of the world-wide recognition of Dr. Cialdini’s cutting edge scientific research and his ethical business and policy applications, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of influence.”
Dr. Cialdini received his Ph.D from the University of North Carolina and post doctoral training from Columbia University. He has held Visiting Scholar Appointments at Ohio State University, the University of California, the Annenberg School of Communications, and the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. Currently, Dr Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.
Dr. Cialdini is CEO and President of INFLUENCE AT WORK; focusing on ethical influence training, corporate keynote programs, and the CMCT (Cialdini Method Certified Trainer) program.
Dr. Cialdini’s clients include such organizations as Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Bayer, Coca Cola, KPMG, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Kodak, Merrill Lynch, Nationwide Insurance, Pfizer, AAA, Northern Trust, IBM, Prudential, The Mayo Clinic, GlaxoSmithKline, Harvard University – Kennedy School, The Weather Channel, the United States Department of Justice, and NATO.
Fortune Magazine lists Influence in their “75 Smartest Business Books.” CEO Read lists Influence in their “100 Best Business Books of All Time.”
Harvard Business School
Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation.
His books including, Influence, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests. Influence has sold over 3 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been published in over 30 languages. His co-authored books include Yes! and The Small Big. His newest book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, is the result of many years of scientific research combined with Cialdini’s engaging style to make each chapter memorable and meaningful. It will be released on September 6th, 2016.
Because of the world-wide recognition of Dr. Cialdini’s cutting edge scientific research and his ethical business and policy applications, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of influence.”
Dr. Cialdini received his Ph.D from the University of North Carolina and post doctoral training from Columbia University. He has held Visiting Scholar Appointments at Ohio State University, the University of California, the Annenberg School of Communications, and the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. Currently, Dr Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.
Dr. Cialdini is CEO and President of INFLUENCE AT WORK; focusing on ethical influence training, corporate keynote programs, and the CMCT (Cialdini Method Certified Trainer) program.
Dr. Cialdini’s clients include such organizations as Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Bayer, Coca Cola, KPMG, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Kodak, Merrill Lynch, Nationwide Insurance, Pfizer, AAA, Northern Trust, IBM, Prudential, The Mayo Clinic, GlaxoSmithKline, Harvard University – Kennedy School, The Weather Channel, the United States Department of Justice, and NATO.
ByClaude Whitacre authoron December 27, 2016
As an author of books on selling, I keep an eye out for the best books on sales and sales psychology. This book is a game changer.
In reply to the few one star reviews...It has been stated in the uncharitable reviews, that the entire content of the book could have been written in a few pages. I agree, at first look, this would seem true. The Harvard Business Review article "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion" by Cialdini, from their October 2001 issue....is a good example. You can even get the Six Principles from the books Table Of Contents...save yourself some time.
But sales ideas have to not just be listed....not just explained...they have to be sold. Examples have to be given, Principles have to be
explained...we need proof. And you need the entire book to do that. The people who read a short article by the author, maybe read the
ideas...but nothing else happens. Salespeople are changed by the content of this book, like with all great sales books. For salespeople to benefit from a sales book, the ideas have to be explained, understood, proven, accepted, and made real. This book does that.
I own perhaps 2,000 books on the subject of selling. This is certainly in the top 5.
In reply to the few one star reviews...It has been stated in the uncharitable reviews, that the entire content of the book could have been written in a few pages. I agree, at first look, this would seem true. The Harvard Business Review article "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion" by Cialdini, from their October 2001 issue....is a good example. You can even get the Six Principles from the books Table Of Contents...save yourself some time.
But sales ideas have to not just be listed....not just explained...they have to be sold. Examples have to be given, Principles have to be
explained...we need proof. And you need the entire book to do that. The people who read a short article by the author, maybe read the
ideas...but nothing else happens. Salespeople are changed by the content of this book, like with all great sales books. For salespeople to benefit from a sales book, the ideas have to be explained, understood, proven, accepted, and made real. This book does that.
I own perhaps 2,000 books on the subject of selling. This is certainly in the top 5.
8 comments| 288 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
ByThomas J. Quinlanon January 29, 2017
This book is dated, & largely appears to pre-date what we consider the modern internet/TV phenomenon, & that's obvious in reading it. That's its only real flaw, though the author does have another book out more recently, & to be fair, this wouldn't likely receive much improvement from an updated revision. That latter point is it's great strength; the lessons inside about how we are susceptible to persuasion don't really need updating per se; they are solid enough, outlined well enough, & supported with facts & data enough that they withstand the obvious test of time. Learning how persuasion can be done, how we can do it, & more importantly, he we can resist it, is a highly worthwhile lesson, which I will carry forward in my own life & import to my family as well.
Bylady with celloon January 5, 2017
I can't remember under what influence I acquired this book! It is worth reading for the delight of understanding many annoying repetitive aspects of our society, and for the warnings about tricksters who manipulate our behaviors in a variety of settings. This book is an eye opener. The writer gives suggestions for resisting the effects of the many influence virtuosos who are after our compliance with their wishes for reasons not always in our own best interests.
Scott Adams had a list of books he recommended on the science of persuasion. At the top of his list was this book, which was a really fascinating and enlightening read. It reminds me why being a skeptic and a cynic are so valuable and necessary, particularly in today's world. As Lily Tomlin said, people would often accuse her of being a cynic, but she found she could still barely keep up. In the book Robert Cialdini delineates the 6 ways a "compliance professional" will lead us down the yellow brick road - to do things which are often both foolish and against our self interests. I'm going to steal from the Wikipedia post and reprint these here:
1. Reciprocity – People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The good cop/bad cop strategy is also based on this principle.
2. Commitment and consistency – If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. Cialdini notes Chinese brainwashing of American prisoners of war to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is children being made to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance each morning and why marketers make you close popups by saying “I’ll sign up later” or "No thanks, I prefer not making money”.
3. Social proof – People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
4. Authority – People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.
5. Liking – People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.
6. Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.
The trick is that as the world gets more complex, these 6 things also provide us with social shortcuts, to keep on the straight and narrow with minimal effort. But this means we have to be vigilant - to make sure we are not being taken advantage of. He notes that we often get that funny feeling in the pit our stomach when we are being manipulated against our will, and he suggests using that feeling/intuition to our advantage - to recognize when we are at risk. One of the things I love about this book is that Cialdini himself is the first to admit that even with all he knows, even he was and is not immune, and he provides some very funny examples to show how he personally has been taken advantage of.
This really is a must read book. In the same vein, the last thing on his list is a one sentence course on persuasion - the sentence being, "People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies."
I think one of the most amazing examples in his book concerns well publicized suicides, as there are not just the expected copy cat suicides, but also up to 10X more fatal aircraft and automobile crashes. It's amazing how little it takes to establish a new subconscious social norm. Our lizard brain betrays us more often than we might think.
1. Reciprocity – People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The good cop/bad cop strategy is also based on this principle.
2. Commitment and consistency – If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. Cialdini notes Chinese brainwashing of American prisoners of war to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is children being made to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance each morning and why marketers make you close popups by saying “I’ll sign up later” or "No thanks, I prefer not making money”.
3. Social proof – People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
4. Authority – People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.
5. Liking – People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.
6. Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.
The trick is that as the world gets more complex, these 6 things also provide us with social shortcuts, to keep on the straight and narrow with minimal effort. But this means we have to be vigilant - to make sure we are not being taken advantage of. He notes that we often get that funny feeling in the pit our stomach when we are being manipulated against our will, and he suggests using that feeling/intuition to our advantage - to recognize when we are at risk. One of the things I love about this book is that Cialdini himself is the first to admit that even with all he knows, even he was and is not immune, and he provides some very funny examples to show how he personally has been taken advantage of.
This really is a must read book. In the same vein, the last thing on his list is a one sentence course on persuasion - the sentence being, "People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies."
I think one of the most amazing examples in his book concerns well publicized suicides, as there are not just the expected copy cat suicides, but also up to 10X more fatal aircraft and automobile crashes. It's amazing how little it takes to establish a new subconscious social norm. Our lizard brain betrays us more often than we might think.
ByK. Larsonon March 18, 2015
This book was recommended by a law school professor in a Legal Negotiation class, so I purchased it used and it arrived within a week. At one cent plus shipping, it was a great value for a book in very good condition.
The theme of the book is what the author identifies as six principles of ethical persuasion: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency, with a chapter is on each. This book makes a nice companion to Korobkin's "Negotiation Theory and Strategy" published by Wolters Kluwer and sold at a considerably higher price, in where that author discusses many of these same concepts in much less depth.
Whether wanting to supplement a more in-depth academic study or merely looking for tips as an influencer, salesperson, or consumer, this is a great reference.
The theme of the book is what the author identifies as six principles of ethical persuasion: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency, with a chapter is on each. This book makes a nice companion to Korobkin's "Negotiation Theory and Strategy" published by Wolters Kluwer and sold at a considerably higher price, in where that author discusses many of these same concepts in much less depth.
Whether wanting to supplement a more in-depth academic study or merely looking for tips as an influencer, salesperson, or consumer, this is a great reference.
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book is terrific. It cites many scientific studies but presents everything ...
ByJ. Peronaon May 28, 2017
This book is terrific. It cites many scientific studies but presents everything with wit and clarity. It is essential for anyone working in sales, and I recommend it highly for anybody who wants to know how to influence others, and perhaps more importantly, to recognize when they are being influenced themselves!
My only beef is that Amazon limits this book to one per customer. Are you kidding me?? I wanted to buy a dozen to give to new graduates this spring, and Amazon only lets me get one? That is a strange marketing strategy.
My only beef is that Amazon limits this book to one per customer. Are you kidding me?? I wanted to buy a dozen to give to new graduates this spring, and Amazon only lets me get one? That is a strange marketing strategy.
The quote by Tom Peters on the cover of the fifth edition is what helped compel me to purchase this text: "If everything were on the line in a negotiation, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have advising me than Bob Cialdini." A colleague of mine noted after the fact that this book recently appeared on a top-20 list of leadership books to read this year, but I have read my share of leadership texts, so what interested me was its apparent focus on negotiation. To some extent, this book is faintly reminiscent of an audio tape called "The Psychology of Selling" by Brian Tracy that a former colleague of mine recommended early in my career, because the focus here is looking at the factors that cause individuals to say "yes", and the techniques that most effectively use these factors to bring about such a decision.
This book is organized around the 6 psychological principles that direct human behavior and give these techniques their power: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Although this book may have been written to engage the popular reader, the conclusions that the author, a psychology professor at Arizona State University, reaches are based on controlled, psychological research. As Cialdini entertainingly walks the reader through what he learned during his 3-year period of participant observation that served as input to this book, in my opinion although he is both successful at instruction as well as keeping the reader engaged, as with many texts the reader will need to extrapolate in order to apply personally, especially if what is sought is application to the workplace.
Judging by the location of dog ears that were left behind after my reading of this text, the portions I especially appreciated are the first chapter, "Weapons of Influence", the last chapter, "Instant Influence: Primitive Consent for an Automatic Age", and the many sidebars throughout the body of what the author provides called "Reader's Reports". In fact, it turns out that the author has found that the "Readers's Reports" are one of the most popular aspects among readers, and in my opinion these are similar to the "Letters to the Editor" one might find in a newspaper or magazine: people writing in to the author to share how the principles and techniques that are presented in this text have been encountered in the real world. Fascinating lessons learned rooted in science. Recommended reading.
This book is organized around the 6 psychological principles that direct human behavior and give these techniques their power: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Although this book may have been written to engage the popular reader, the conclusions that the author, a psychology professor at Arizona State University, reaches are based on controlled, psychological research. As Cialdini entertainingly walks the reader through what he learned during his 3-year period of participant observation that served as input to this book, in my opinion although he is both successful at instruction as well as keeping the reader engaged, as with many texts the reader will need to extrapolate in order to apply personally, especially if what is sought is application to the workplace.
Judging by the location of dog ears that were left behind after my reading of this text, the portions I especially appreciated are the first chapter, "Weapons of Influence", the last chapter, "Instant Influence: Primitive Consent for an Automatic Age", and the many sidebars throughout the body of what the author provides called "Reader's Reports". In fact, it turns out that the author has found that the "Readers's Reports" are one of the most popular aspects among readers, and in my opinion these are similar to the "Letters to the Editor" one might find in a newspaper or magazine: people writing in to the author to share how the principles and techniques that are presented in this text have been encountered in the real world. Fascinating lessons learned rooted in science. Recommended reading.
ByAdam Bruceon December 14, 2016
Very interesting and compelling at points. There's certainly things worth learning here and a good structure to them at that. Most of all this makes me wish psychology was developed as a science as rigorously as physics or biology. In this case we could use work like this to make accurate predictions about people's behavior 100% of the time (rather than just having more confidence in provoking a certain reaction when utilizing a certain tool of persuasion, as Cialdini's results demonstrate). My one criticism is that it ignores the "boring science" side of things too much and develops its arguments primarily allegorically. This is, of course, what you need to do if you want to write a pop-sci bestseller, but my ideal version of this book would shed most of that for developing the theory more comprehensively and presenting more complete analyses (or at least basic summary stats) of experimental results
ByKarthikon August 7, 2016
As a reader of primarily economics and business related material, I found this book about the 'Psychology of Compliance/Persuasion' to be extremely informative and thoroughly enjoyable. Academic studies were seamlessly interspersed with real life anecdotes and the arguments were laid out in a very convincing fashion. The author presents 6 main principles that he terms 'Weapons of Influence' that are used by what he terms are 'Compliance Professionals'. These are: Reciprocation, Reciprocity, Authority, Liking, Scarcity, Complicity and Consistency. Each principle has its own chapter and includes various references to academic studies (e.g. Millgram experiment), historical events (e.g. Jonestown Mass Suicide) and anecdotal evidence from reader feedback.
All in all an absolutely great read that piqued my interest in the field.
All in all an absolutely great read that piqued my interest in the field.
ByNicholas Siegelon July 11, 2015
Recently I took a course in applied social influence for my masters program for which this book was assigned and the instructor is formally trained by Dr. Cialdini. Going into the course, and prior to reading this book, I thought this would be the framework for "forcing people to do what you want", delightfully however this book provides quite the opposite. The principles described within the confines of the book are things that every person does on daily basis no matter your situation. The key benefit of learning the six principles Dr. Cialdini identifies is understanding how people are influenced and becoming more aware of how to use each principle in day to day life. These principles are intentionally simple and are ingrained in human behavior, not just those formally trained in influence. I would recommenced this book to anyone, not just business professionals. This book provides the framework for not just becoming better at the art of influence, but becoming a better communicator in general.
