The Profile Dossier: Robert Cialdini, the Master of Persuasion
“Attractiveness, similarity, compliments, contact, and cooperation can make a person more influential.”
Social psychologist Robert Cialdini has been called "The Godfather of Influence."
He has earned an international reputation as an expert in the field of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. In other words, Cialdini is a master at understanding human incentives and behavior.
Through his research, Cialdini found that influence is based on six cornerstone principles: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. In 2016, he proposed a seventh principle. He called it "the unity principle," which states that the more we identify ourselves with others, the more we are influenced by those in the group.
In 2012, Cialdini advised Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. He learned a lot about voter sentiment and voter identification. For instance, simply identifying a person as a voter acts as a prompt to future voting.
Cialdini explains: “People want to be congruent with what they have committed to in the past, especially if that commitment is public."
Here's what we can learn about persuasion and influence all while avoiding manipulation.
READ.
On the psychology of persuasion: In his best-selling book Influence, Cialdini addresses the six psychological principles of influencing (which we explain in the Techniques section below). He delves deep into the methods of influence, how to use them to become a skilled persuader, and just as importantly, how to defend yourself against them.
On the moment of influence: In his most recent book, Pre-Suasion, Cialdini shines a light on effective persuasion and reveals that the secret doesn’t lie in the message itself, but in the key moment before that message is delivered. He explains how to capitalize on the essential window of time before you deliver an important message.
LISTEN.
On prioritizing truth: Cialdini says we live in the most stimulus-saturated, information-overloaded environment that's ever existed. "There's so much information, so many options, so many alternatives that it forces us to be simple," he says. We often use heuristics in order to make decisions. "That use of simple strategies can make us susceptible to influence practices," he says, "but not all influence practices are manipulative.”
On the psychology of persuasion: How do you become better at sales? What can you do to earn people's trust? And what role does confidence play in the art of persuasion? In this podcast, Cialdini explains the universal principles of persuasion.
WATCH.
On the power of mystery: If you tailor your marketing message using mystery or a cliffhanger, you immediately reel in the viewer. Cialdini reveals humans have "a need for closure," which is why solving puzzles is so alluring to us. "To get that closure, they have to pay attention to your message in order to solve the mystery," Cialdini says. This is a fascinating interview.
On persuading with purpose: As a leader, you want input from your team so you can cultivate a democratic culture within your company. How? You need to create a sense of unity, collaboration, and togetherness. Cialdini says you can do this by changing one word in your vocabulary. Rather than asking people for their opinion, ask them for their advice. "It invites partnership," he says. "The idea of advice is associated with collaboration and togetherness."
On the tricky business of political persuasion: When times are uncertain, people find comfort in numbers. When a politician makes a speech, you're being exposed to a number of cues. Before you ever hear the candidate give a speech, the camera is focused on a sea of faces (their supporters). "In the old days, there used to be curtains or flags [behind the candidate]," he says. "Now, there are faces indicating that a lot of people support this candidate." That's the principle of social proof in action.
TECHNIQUES TO TRY.
Be the first to give: As humans, we don't like to feel like we owe something to other people. Most of us try to settle our social obligations as quickly as we possibly can. How can you use this knowledge to influence someone? Cialdini says you should aim to be the first to act and give someone a meaningful and unexpected gift. The act of the gift is more important than the value of the gift. In return, the other person may feel an obligation to respond to your kindness. Remember, we tend to want to do nice things for people who are nice to us.
Create a sense of scarcity: People want things that don't have an infinite supply. They want things that are scarce. When there is only a limited supply of something, we tend to desire it more than we would under normal circumstances. This means that if you want to increase interest in your product, service, (or even yourself), you might want to reduce its availability. Ask yourself: Could I put boundaries around my own availability? It might lead to people respecting, valuing, and paying for your time.
Build your credibility: If there's one thing society loves, it's artifacts of authority. When we walk into the doctor's office, we expect to see their framed medical diplomas. We look for signals of expertise and knowledge. Cialdini explains that authority builds trust, and when we trust people, we're more likely to follow them. But remember: credibility doesn't have to be built through accolades. You can build trust with your customer through consistency and high-quality offerings.
Commitments lead to powerful long-term results: People like to be consistent with the things they have previously said or done because we like to be consistent with the identity that we hold. In other words, if I consider myself a healthy person, I'm more likely to engage in habits and actions that re-affirm my healthy lifestyle. You can activate someone's desire for consistency by asking them to commit to tiny actions and then move on to larger things from there. This means that if I can convince you to act in a minor way in relation to something, you will start thinking of yourself as that type of person and be more likely to act that way in the future. “Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment," Cialdini says. "Those pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision.” If not used for positive behavior change, you may fall victim to this tactic. Cialdini suggests that you regularly check in on your emotional and physical state whenever you're confronted with the possibility of making bad choices or at least ones that don’t resemble your values or true sense of self.
Increase your likability quotient: This is an obvious one: People tend to be persuaded or influenced more by those they like than those they don't. You can increase your likability by asking genuine questions, paying attention, being generous with compliments, and identifying mutual interests. “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 favor," Cialdini says.
Offer to provide social proof: Few people are true independent thinkers. Most humans are social by nature, and they subconsciously want to conform to the norms of a social group. This means that when it comes to decision-making, we often look around the room to see what others are doing before we decide what to do ourselves. “In general, when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct," he says.
QUOTES TO REMEMBER.
"Our best evidence of what people truly feel and believe comes less from their words than from their deeds."
“People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.”
“Attractiveness, similarity, compliments, contact and cooperation can make a person more influential.”
“Once we realize that obedience to authority is mostly rewarding, it is easy to allow ourselves the convenience of automatic obedience.”
“Often we don’t realize that our attitude toward something has been influenced by the number of times we have been exposed to it in the past.”
“The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”
“Freedoms once granted will not be relinquished without a fight.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
“Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.”
“We all fool ourselves from time to time in order to keep our thoughts and beliefs consistent with what we have already done or decided.”
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