Influence By Dr Robert B. Cialdini

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. —ALBERT EINSTEIN”

As promised, here is the rest of the summary of the world famous book - Influence By Dr Robert B. Cialdini.

Earlier we covered 3 of the 7 universal principles that are scientifically proven to increase your influence.

Let us continue:

“Our best evidence of what people truly feel and believe comes less from their words than from their deeds.”

Liking
- example
  - imagine a stranger coming up to you to ask for some money
  - now image someone known coming up to you and ask for some money
- sometimes it’s not “what’s being asked” but “who is asking”
- it’s easier for us to say YES to those we know and like
- what causes liking?
  
  or what causes someone to like you?
  1. Similarities
    1. when you discover you have something in common → liking is kick started
    2. pointing out what you have in common with the other person → will cause them to like you a little more
    3. as simple as
      1. mentioning where you are from
      2. pets you own
      3. college or school
    4. this also affects your mind
      1. and you start liking the person more
      2. and this shows in your actions and words
      3. and when they see that you like them → they become much more open to you
  2. Praise
    1. when you see something praise-worthy in another person
      1. pay the compliment
      2. be genuine
    2. this also engages liking
    3. people enjoy recognition
- example
  - studies carried out between MBA students at two well-known business schools
    - group1
      - they were told, “Time is money. Get straight down to business.”
      - around 55% were able to come to an agreement.
    - group2
      - they were told, “Before you begin negotiating, exchange some personal information with each other. Identify a similarity you share in common then begin negotiating.”
      - 90% of them were able to come to successful and agreeable outcomes
Authority

“Follow an expert” - Virgil, Roman Poet
- people pay more attention to individuals in position of power
- example
  - advertising companies using people in lab coats asking us to use their product
- even if it’s not explicitly mentioned that someone is an expert
  - we are tuned to look for signs that makes it clear who is the expert in a group
- authority → trust
- when we trust someone we will listen to them even in absence of real expertise
- how to use this?
  - following factors affect authority
    - title | doctor, judge or attorney
    - dress | they look apart
    - other signs
      - company we work for
      - cars we drive
      - where we live
      - degrees we have earned
      - awards we have won
  - it’s important to signal to others what makes you a credible, knowledgeable authority before you make your influence attempt
  - you can hardly go around telling people how brilliant you are
    - but you can certainly arrange for someone to do it for you.
    “good-looking people are aware that other people’s positive evaluations of them are not based on their actual traits and abilities but are often caused by an attractiveness “halo”
- example
  - One group of real estate agents was able to
    - increase both the number of property appraisals and
    - the number of subsequent contracts that they wrote
  - by arranging for reception staff who answered customer enquiries
    - to first mention their colleagues’ credentials and expertise.
    - Customers who wanted more information about selling properties were told “Speak to Peter, our head of sales. He has over 20 years’ experience selling properties. I’ll put you through now.”
Scarcity
- human mind → “if i can’t have it, then i want it”
- we are attracted to
  - something that’s rare
  - or if that thing is about to go away
- how to use it?
  - deadlines
  - limited quantities
- but this only works if people know about the deadlines and limited quantities
  - you have to spread this information quickly
- example
  - often used by door-to-door sales persons
  - a mention of a limited quantity
    - triggers in us a potential to act sooner
  - Black Friday Sales
- Romeo and Juliet Effect
  - example
    - censorship
      - when something is deemed bad
      - people are limited to watch, read or listen it
      - many times these restrictions boost the viewership
  “The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”
  - when someone tries to take away your freedom
    - you are more inclined to do that behavior
- Scarcity is powerful
- we are hard-wired to pay attention to potential loss
- in our ancestors
  - people who were more sensitive to loss had the best chances to surviving
- we still carry this powerful bias
- example
  - 2003 | When British Airways announced
    - they would no longer be operating the twice daily London—New York Concorde flight → because it had become uneconomical to run,
    - sales the very next day took off
  - Nothing had changed about the flight itself.
    - didn’t fly any faster,
    - the service didn’t suddenly get better, and
    - the airfare didn’t drop.
  - It had simply become a scarce resource.
  - And as a result, people wanted it more.
Contrast
- this is different from the other 6 principles
- while the above are not always usable
  - ❌ Scarcity | the item might not be rare
  - ❌ Social proof | very few people might be using it
  - ❌ Reciprocity | any gifts might be taken negatively
- Contrast → always available
  - we are always making comparisons
  - we all think we are very good at this
- we use contrasting words all the time
  - tall | taller than who?
  - expensive | more expensive than what?
- There nothing high or low
  - comparing makes it so
- find the right comparison
  - your offer will look better
- comparison is better than no comparison