MARCUS ZANQUILA

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini

In one paragraph

Ever wondered why you bought something that you absolutely didn’t need? Or why you kept holding on to a relationship that was already broken? Or why some people like you and others don’t? If you want answers to these questions and want to understand why you and other people sometimes behave like on auto-pilot, this book is for you. Filled with practical examples and behavioral psychology experiments, Cialdini guides through the six weapons of persuasion. How they are constructed, how they affect us and how we can protect ourselves against them.

Notes from the book

These are the notes I took while reading the book. The whole summary can seem a lot. If you just want to take away the most important ideas, just scan my key findings.

Reciprocation

  • My key findings
    • At first give as much value as possible for free. Then give options for people to return your favor.
    • Make an unrealistically high request before making your intended request to make it look a bargain in comparison.

  • Whether you like the requester or not, when someone gives you some sort of „gift“ you feel the obligation to return the favor in some way.
  • Free samples can be used in advertising (BUG used „test for no money tactic to get the products in people’s hands without obligation)
  • „There is an obligation to give, an obligation to receive and an obligation to repay.“ – Marcel Mauss
  • The returned favor is often bigger than the received gift to relieve us from the psychological burden.
  • There is a huge social distaste for people who break the rule, so the motivation is higher to stick to the rule of returning the favor.
  • A woman that allows drinks to be bought is seen as more sexually available.
  • Rejection-then-retreat-technique
    Use unrealistically large request upfront and follow up with the relatively smaller intended request.

Commitment & consistency

  • My key findings
    • Start a relationship with a small commitment, then gradually ascend to bigger commitments.
    • Do not focus on profit first. Focus on commitment. Even by making a loss.
    • Want to stick to a personal commitment? Write it down. Tell everyone around you about it.

  • Toy manufacturers undersupply stores with toys from pre-christmas advertising to avoid after-christmas slump in January and February. Parents will look out for the children’s most desired toys after christmas.
  • Foot-in-the-door-technique
    Obtain a large purchase by starting with a small one. The goal of the small purchase is not profit, but commitment! The small commitment turns the prospect into a customer.
  • Use small commitments that vote for a specific self-image of a person. Once the self-image is established, people will naturally comply with almost all requests that are consistent with the self-image.
  • Writing commitment down increases success significantly. E.g. Procter & Gamble „Why I like…“-contest; 25, 50, 100 words or more.
  • Visibility of commitment to others increases success significantly. Everyone wants to look like a consistent person that does what he or she says.
  • The harder a group initiation ceremony for newcomers is, the more attractive is the group, the greater is the chance of the group survival and its solidarity.
  • People are more likely to stick to commitments when they take personal responsibility for the commitment and are independent of outside pressure.
    Child education: reason must be given for child to see that it is the obvious reason to hold on to commitment. The less detectable the outside pressure, the better. Hard punishment fails as external trigger on the long run.
  • Low ball technique
    1. Give purchase advantage to induce purchase decision
    2. After decision and before bargain original purchase advantage is removed
    That works because people develop reasons to support their choice (personal commitment) automatically. It does not matter if it’s a good or a bad choice. We don’t want to lose countenance.
    Also works in a positive way. E.g. gas savers: letter to remove advantage (name in local newspaper) removed the external reason for the new gas saving behavior. People saved more energy after that.
  • Say no
    „Would I make the same choice again?“ -> be aware of your stomach message before reasoning kicks in.

Social proof

  • My key findings
    • Use social proof of people that are similar to the target audience.
    • Always try to reduce uncertainty. Give unmistakeable instructions. Give concrete individuals clear responsibilities.
    • To move a herd, get some members moving in the desired direction. The herd will move gradually. They don’t care about the leader. They move because their peers are moving. To get someone moving, move his or her peers.

  • Works best when the proof is provided by actions of a lot of other people.
  • Works significantly better when we view those others as similar to ourselves. (e.g. suicide news, people’s mass suicide in Guyana)
  • Uncertainty is the basis for social proof.
    „What are similar others thinking / doing?“
  • Devictimize yourself in emergency situation
    1. Reduce uncertainty. Don’t just call for undirected „help“.
    2. Pick concrete individuals and assign specific tasks
  • Werther-effect
    We trust in collective knowledge. To make use of this effect and direct a whole herd, get some members moving in the desired direction. The herd will follow, not necessarily because the leader is charismatic, but because the people surrounding them follow.
    E.g. buffalos running over cliffs, claquers in early operas, horserace bet strategy

Liking

  • My key findings
    • To be liked, connect yourself with good news, not bad news.
    • Mirror & match people’s behavior and make compliments.
    • Attach your message with positive emotions to reach the receiver. It does not necessarily have to be logical, just positive.

  • physical attractiveness
    good looking people enjoy enormous social advantages
  • similarity
    mirror & match customer’s body posture, mood, verbal style
  • compliments
    positive comments produce as much liking when they are untrue as when true
  • contact
    Quantity of contact and quality of contact. When always under unpleasant conditions -> dislike.
  • cooperation
    When cooperation is necessary for mutual benefit, people will tend to like each other.
  • conditioning
    Works like Pavlov’s food & bell experiments.
    • Linking celebrities with products
      Connection does not have to be logical, just positive!
    • Luncheon-technique
      Serve great food before or while making a request.
  • association
    • To be liked, connect yourself with good news, not bad news.
    • „We are the champions.“ vs. „They lost again.“
      People associate with successful others and disassociate with failing others to help restore low personal worth. „Super fans“ often try to compensate hidden personality flaws, they actually don’t really care about the sport itself.
    • Use friendship tie as sales argument. Your friend XY gains if you join. „Works 9 times out of 10.“
  • Say no
    „Do I like the other person too much?“
    Untie the requester from the request itself.

Authority

  • My key findings
    • Titles often lead to unquestioned authority.
    • Always dress good.
    • Establish a lack of concern for personal profit.
      Give out highly valuable information for free to gain trust and authority.

  • Titles
  • Nurses that give medication without questioning the dose or applying own knowledge, because the doctor has ordered it.
  • Clothes
    Send message of respectability. Well-tailored business suit.
  • Trappings / status symbols
    Jewlery & cars.
  • Vincent the waiter with best tips
    • Adapts his strategy to each customer profile
    • Lack of concern for personal profit. He seems to act against his financial interest.
      Combination of reciprocity and authority is the ultimate trust and authority booster!
      „He really wants the best for us and is clearly on our side. We trust him.“

Scarcity

  • My key findings
    • Scarce resources are more persuasive because we want to protect our freedom of choice.
    • Never give freedom and then take it away. Either give it and don’t take it away or do not give it.
    • Offer information that is highly exclusive and can’t be found elsewhere.
    • Let people compete for your offerings. Combine scarcity with competition or rivalry.

  • „When our freedom to have something is limited, the item becomes less available and we experience an increased desire for it.“
  • We will find a piece of information more persuasive of we think we can’t get it anywhere else. (Beef importer sold 6 times more with the statement added that the information about the limited supply in the near future is only available here.)
    Exclusivity is highly persuasive.
  • Freedom once granted will not be relinquished without a fight.
    Parents who enforce discipline inconsistently produce rebellious children.
  • Say no
    Scarce recourses do not taste any better just because they are scarce.
    „Do I want to own it or really use it?“

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