Some things never change...

I recently attended a London School of Business webinar which featured Robert Cialdini, a psychologist and expert on the science of influence. He wrote the renowned book - ?‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’ in 1984, which is a must-read for a marketer, salesman or any professional who wants to improve their persuasion and influence skills.

It struck me that even after 40 years of his seminal book, his principles of influence have stood the test of time…quite a feat given the sea-change the world has undergone during the four decades!

In diving into Cialdini’s principles, I’ve categorized them into those that operate on a personal level vs the externally focused ones. In this first of the two-part series, I’ve focused on the principles of persuasion which work on a personal level:

RECIPROCITY: This is best summed up as ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. The feeling of obligation or indebtedness is more likely to persuade someone to do or buy something, if you’ve given them something free at the outset. Under a feeling of obligation, individuals are much more likely to say ‘yes’ to a request. Consider a time when a colleague has invited you over for a meal at their home. You are more likely to reciprocate by returning the invitation to your home in the near future.?#reciprocity

Watch Cialdini explain the principle of reciprocity.

COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY: It’s human nature for people to act in a way that’s in line with what they have previously said or done. This is to minimize the awful sense of being a hypocrite because inconsistent behaviour is an undesirable trait. Often the power of commitment becomes more palpable if it’s given in writing. Take gyms as an example where, as a sales ploy, they offer week-long free passes to individuals who are keen to get into shape and try out the facilities and classes. Often, this free pass entails a written commitment - filling in a form to receive their trial membership card for the week. The next step when the free trial is over, entails getting the individual to purchase a full gym membership so that they continue to stay in shape, which is consistent with their initial behaviour of keeping fit. Now are you thinking of when you fell for this sales ploy…#commitment #consistency

LIKING: We often like people who are similar to us. Likability is one of the ways in which people decide with whom to do business. According to Cialdini, there’s 2 ways to increase likability: firstly, find similarities because these help to build rapport and secondly, pay genuine compliments. I’ve seen both these likability actions well executed by salesmen whom I meet for the first time. Before they even start their presentations, they will engage in some small talk to build rapport either by complimenting the company or finding some similarity between my background and theirs. Glib as this influence tactic may seem, it does work to establish some foundations of liking that helps to lubricate the business relationship. #liking

UNITY: If we share a common identity with someone, it is quite likely that we would say yes to them. According to Cialdini, the Unity principle goes beyond surface level similarities (which can still be influential, but under the Liking principle). Instead, it’s about having shared identities. With shared values and beliefs, such individuals have some influence over our decision. In a way, the Unity principle boils down to the human need to belong. You will likely see the Unity principle in action especially among politicians. For example, they may start to talk about loving Taylor Swift’s music, or how they like a particular cuisine, or whatever their voter segment likes doing or wants, to build that shared identity which can help to sway votes their way. #unity

Frankly I’ve been influenced by these principles before but never knew they were Cialdini’s principles of persuasion. Which one[s] are you partial to?

Watch out for my final part of this series on Cialdini's external principles of persuasion.

#Cialdini’sprinciples #influence #persuasion #principlesofpersuasion