Unraveling the Principles of Influence

Key takeaways from Robert Cialdini's book Influence

The author identifies 7 main principles that can influence people and make them take automatic, mindless actions → saying yes without thinking first.

Before we dive into the 7 principles, we must understand something about natural human tendencies →

click, run

Humans simplify features and create mental shortcuts to avoid freezing when faced with a decision.

We call it "automatic shortcut responding".

Examples of automatic shortcut responses we use are:

• Good = expensive
• If the expert says it, it's true

The "click, run" behaviour is important to understand how the influence principles can be used.

Now, let's dive into the juicy part.

Principle 1: Reciprocation

A person can confidently give a gift to another person, knowing they will receive something equivalent in return.

Two obligations play a crucial role here:

• The obligation to repay; and
• The obligation to receive (impoliteness of saying no to a gift)

The second obligation makes this rule easy to exploit.

Dangers of this rule:

• It can lead to unequal exchanges.
• We may avoid asking for a favour if we cannot repay it.

?The first request cannot be extreme enough to seem unreasonable, or the tactic will backfire.

Variations of this principle:

• Larger-than-smaller-request strategy: based on the contrast principle, it involves making a smaller request after a previous bigger request, which makes the smaller request seem smaller.
• Rejection-then-retreat tactic: initially presenting a larger request likely to be rejected and following it up with a smaller one, making it more likely to be accepted.

Best defence:

Accept initial favours in good faith but be ready to reconsider if they are being used to influence your decision.

Principle 2: Liking

We are more influenced by people we like than individuals we've never interacted with.

How can we make someone like us or determine why we like someone?

• Physical attractiveness: good-looking people have an advantage in social interaction.
• Similarity: we prefer people who are like us.
• Compliments: we love it when people flatter us.
• Conditioning and association: we tend to dislike people who bring unpleasant information.

Best defence:

When in doubt, ask yourself, "In the time I've known this salesperson, have I come to like him more than I would have expected?" If yes, mentally separate them from what they are selling. Then, make your decision.

Principle 3: Social proof

We determine what is correct by discovering what others think is correct.

The danger is that we can be fooled by fake evidence (e.g., a big queue in front of an empty nightclub).

This level of influence works best when:

• Uncertainty: When we are unsure, we are more easily influenced.
• The many: The number of people acting in a certain way.
• Similarity: When the evidence comes from people similar to us.

?If you don't have genuine social proof, don't ever falsify it.

Best defence:

Be cautious of purposely falsified social proof; double-check as much as possible.

Don't base your decisions solely on the actions of similar others.

Principle 4: Authority

When a legitimate authority speaks, what would otherwise make sense becomes irrelevant.

As humans, we act according to instructions in a click-run way.

Where does authority come from?

• Titles: doctors, lawyers, judges (hard to acquire but in some ways easy).
• Clothes: uniforms symbolize authority.
• Trappings: expensive clothes symbolize status and economic standing.

However, the authority must be credible, as people generally dislike being told what to do.

Best defence:

Remove the element of surprise, as we often underestimate the impact of authority.

Always question the truthfulness of the expert.

Principle 5: Scarcity

People are more motivated by the fear of losing something than by the prospect of gaining something of equal value.

The power comes from two major sources:

• Weakness for shortcuts: we use limited availability to judge quality.
• Human fear of losing freedoms we already have.

New scarcity: we value things more when they have recently become scarce (than those things that have always been scarce).

Best defence:

When you sense the feeling of scarcity, use it as a signal to pause, calm yourself, and ask, "why do I want that item?".

If you want it for its function, ask, "will the item function equally if it's not scarce?".

Then, make your decision accordingly.

Principles 6 and 7: Commitment and Consistency

We desire to be consistent with our words, beliefs, attitudes, and actions -and we are committed to them once we have stated them in public-.

This tendency for consistency stems from three sources:

• Valuing personal consistency, which is highly regarded by society.
• Consistent behaviour as a practical approach to daily life.
• Consistent orientation is a valuable shortcut in a complex existence.

But we should remember that: accuracy > consistency.

Best defence:

• Listen to our stomachs, recognizing when commitment and consistency pressures push us to agree to requests we don't genuinely want to perform.
• Listen to our hearts, asking if we would commit to going back in time with the knowledge we have now.

Bonus I: The Unity principle

We divide people into those to whom the pronoun "we" applies and those to whom it doesn't.

The perception of belonging together, "we-ness," is influenced by:

• Genetic overlap
• Shared places (home, locality, or region)
• Shared experiences (common enemies, pain)

Bonus II: Instant Influence

In a world where technology inundates us with more information than we can process, we rely on even more shortcuts.

The problem arises when these shortcuts lead us to mistakes.

Awareness of the influence principles can help you in your business and make better decisions.