The best quotes of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition"

Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.

You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

Important Links

Link to the book on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X

Link to the author's profile in Linkedin - Robert B. Cialdini

The best quotes:

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

"Where all think alike, no one thinks very much. —WALTER LIPPMANN" 

"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." 

"There is a natural human tendency to dislike a person who brings us unpleasant information, even when that person did not cause the bad news. The simple association with it is enough to stimulate our dislike." 

"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" 

"persons who go through a great deal of trouble or pain to attain something tend to value it more highly than persons who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort." 

"people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value." 

"Freedoms once granted will not be relinquished without a fight." 

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

"The idea of potential loss plays a large role in human decision making. In fact, people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value." 

"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost." 

"The customers, mostly well-to-do vacationers with little knowledge of turquoise, were using a standard principle—a stereotype—to guide their buying: “expensive = good." 

"As a general rule, whenever the dust settles and we find losers looking and speaking like winners (and vice versa), we should be especially wary of the conditions that kicked up the dust—in" 

"All things being equal, you root for your own sex, your own culture, your own locality…and what you want to prove is that you are better than the other person. Whomever you root for represents you; and when he wins, you win.”88" 

"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" 

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

"our typical reaction to scarcity hinders our ability to think."