Rating: 
Summary: Excellent! Highly recommended.
Review: This book is primarily about how marketers and sales professional manipulate our minds for their benefits. The topics covered are extensive, including contrast principle, mimic tricks of photuris/blenny, rule for reciprocation, reciprocal concessions (rejection then retreat technique), consistency (willingness to believe in the correctness of a difficult choice, once made), foot in the door technique, committing power of public/written statements, manipulation and exploitation of customers' self image, principle of social proof (draw of the crowd vs pluralistic ignorance when people feel most uncertain and unfamiliar), effect of repeated contact on liking (condition dependent), application of common goals for conflict solving, good cop/bad cop ploy, conditioning and association, the strength of authority pressure, scarcity principle (limited freedom to something makes it more desirable), Romeo and Juliet effect, etc etc. What makes it so outstanding from it's kind is that 1) it's so well written with many vivid examples and few jargons that most readers with no or little psychology background can enjoy it much. 2)In the end of each chapter there's a section named "how to say no", something you seldom find in other psychology book. That's certainly a plus coz knowledge without application amounts to nothing. In a word, a page turner and a must read particulary for everything in the city jungle. Remarks: I like the opening adages of some chapters much. To quote some: Chapter 3 Committment and Consistency: It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end. Da Vinci
Chapter 4 Influence: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much. Lippmann
Chapter 5 Liking: The main work of a trial attorney is to make a jury like his client. Darrow
Chapter 7: The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. G.K. Chesterton
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Ever Read (Twenty Times!)
Review: Robert Cialdini's book is not only entertaining to read, it reveals exceptionally useful psychological fundamentals. His research studies how and why people agree to things, and is not inclusive to any one area of life. His book explains the psychological triggers that influence people to comply with requests, and also covers how these triggers are used and abused. As a developmental trainer, I have found his work exceptionally insightful. It has helped me understand why certain management & sales techniques work, and sheds light on how we all are subject to these powerful psychological responses. The examples that he cites are powerful: all are well researched, easy to understand, and many are quite entertaining! If you are interested in affecting human behavior in anyway, this book is a must read. I originally read it nearly 10 years ago, and have read the book several times since. Have you ever wondered why you've donated money to an organization you didn't even care about because they gave you a simple trinket? Ever found yourself "overpaying" a favor you received from another? Have you ever wondered why we all feel compelled to "keep up with the Jones," or why that special toy everyone wants for Christmas is so hard to get? My company has a core set of values that we expect over 1500 people to follow, and none of our efforts would be possible without understanding his research and applying the principles of commitment & compliance. Salespeople, supervisors, executives, and anyone even remotely involved in influencing the behavior of others should IMMEDIATELY read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic - One of those Life-Changing Books
Review: I first was introduced to Cialdini's work during an "Intro to Managerial Psychology" class in the early 90's. I have found the concepts in this legendary book to be useful again and again in everything I do in business. His was the first book I read that had the perfect balance of "down to earth" explanations with academic underpinnings, and a reasonable path to apply different topics.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and eye-opening book. Buy and Read it!
Review: What are the factors that cause one person to say yes to another person? Which techniques most effectively use these factors to bring about such compliance?
Prof. Cialdini found six such techniques: Reciprocation, Commitment, Social Proof, Liking, Authority and Scarcity. Author explains why they work, and how to say no to peddlers that want to exploit you using them.
The book is well written, the style is simple, there's ample use of appropriate anecdotes so you can better remember what's most important.
The six techniques are discussed "in terms of their function in the society and in terms of how their enormous force can be commissioned by a compliance professional who deftly incorporates them into requests for purchases, donations, concessions, votes..."; yes, 'votes', so I believe it's an important reason for you, citizen, to learn those six tricks, in your own interest! They exploit our 'automatic behavior patterns' (three pages to explain this, don't worry!), and they make us terribly vulnerable to anyone who does know how they work.
I'll break down how Prof. Cialdini examines the rules, I'll use rule number one, "Reciprocation" as an example.
1 - Definition of the rule: "The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us."
2 - Rationale (why it works and why we, as humans, always stick to it): The development of this behaviour "meant that one person could give something (for example, food, energy, care) to another with confidence that it was not being lost.(...) Sophisticated and coordinated systems of aid, gift giving, defense, and trade became possible, bringing immense benefit to the societies that possessed them."
3 - The rule at work: The Hare Krishna Society began to employ a donation-request procedure that engaged this rule. Before a donation is requested, the target person is given a "gift", say, a flower. The unsuspecting passerby who suddenly finds a flower into his hands is not allowed to give it back. "No, it is our gift to you", says the solicitor, refusing to accept it. Only after the Krishna member has thus brought the force of the reciprocation rule to bear the situation is the target asked to provide a contribution to the society.
4 - Power of the rule: "It is instructive that the reciprocation rule has begun to outlive its usefulness for the Krishnas, not because the rule itself is any less potent socially, but because we have found ways to prevent the Krishnas from using it on us. After once falling victim to their tactic, many travelers are now alert to the presence of (...) solicitors in airports and train stations, adjusting thier paths to avoid an encounter and preparing beforehand to ward off a solicitor's 'gift'. (...) It is a testament to the societal value of reciprocation that we have chosen to fight the Krishnas mostly by seeking to avoid rather than to withstand the force of their gift giving".
5 - How to say no: "If the initial favor turns out to be a device, a trick, an artifice designed specifically to stimulate our compliance with a larger return favor", "here our partner is not a benefactor but a profiteer". "We need only react to it accordingly to be free of its influence. As long as we perceive and define his actions as a compliance device instead of a favor, he no longer has the reciprocation rule as an ally: The rule says that favors are to be met with favors; it does not require that tricks be met with favors".
The advice given in this book works very well. Please learn the six techniques by heart and strive to recognize their use during your everyday life: it is an eye-opening exercise, really worth trying.
If you are an easy mark for the pitches of peddlers and con men of one sort of another, or if you just want to know better how persuasion works, this book is unmissable.
Wonderful book, five stars, go have a copy and read it now!
Rating:
Summary: Deep AND readable; I'm persuaded!
Review: Most books of applied psychology fall prey to one of two weaknesses: Either they lack scientific content (or over-simplify) or they present solid information in an academic manner that readers find difficult to absorb and apply. Robert Cialdini's book stands out brilliantly from these books. Combining wide and deep scientific scholarship with an engaging, lucid, and personal style, Influence may be the single best work on the topic. The intent of the book is to show how we can understand and defend against pervasive non-rational influences on our decision-making. Of course the same principles could be applied to market products or influence colleagues and rivals either in place of or in addition to genuine reasons. One sign of the range of the book is the fact that Cialdini doesn't get to the famous Milgram experiment on "Obedience to Authority" until p.208. The book concentrates on several factors that evolution and culture have drilled into us to produce compliance for good reasons, but which can be abused by "compliance professionals": reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Any reader will find the research results stunning and frightening. Fortunately, Cialdini concludes each compelling chapter with hints on "How to say no". No matter how intelligent you are, you have undoubtedly fallen for many of these techniques used deliberately or accidentally. How many poor business investment decisions, product purchases, or strategic moves have been influenced by non-rational factors? You have to read this book. Why? Because I've done you a favor with this review and you owe it to me; you can't say you're a rational person if you don't; everyone else is reading it; I'm attractive, friendly, well-dressed, similar to you, and you like me; I'm an psychology expert and I recommend it; and you need to buy it now before all copies are sold!
Rating:
Summary: Great book which can help you a lot
Review: What I can say in simple words... Ono of the best books I have ever read. Cialdini is highly seasoned professional. Shiloh
also fan of motivational book you can view at amazon.com
The Rainbow Butterfly
(...)
Rating:
Summary: Great and scary
Review: Great and unnerving at the same time, the book is filled with various studies in the field of social psychology. I cannot recommend this book too highly; an entertaining and informative read. If you've ever been snookered into buying a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita in a bus station or found yourself purchasing a timeshare condo against your better judgement (or the thousand other unneeded sales we've all been hit with at some time or another), this book is for you. It gives a structure to the various cultural instincts we have and how these can be subverted. On a more positive note, it is also useful for understanding how to best get your own message across (while avoiding being manipulative). For example, after reading it I now tell my children "clean your room, because...", as using "because" makes the request more effective (oddly enough, regardless of the reason given after the word "because", at least in theory. I haven't tried "because the moon is full" yet). I plan to give this book to my children when they graduate from high school (if not sooner).
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC INSIGHTS INTO HOW PEOPLE ARE PERSUADED
Review: Have you ever noticed how sometimes you are an easy sell, and other times you have total resistance? Thank back on those instances, and you will have good test cases for considering Professor Cialdini's research. Cialdini argues that we all have habits of making buying decisions that can make us work against our own best interest, and can help others sell to us when we should not buy. This book helps both buyers and sellers to communicate in better ways, so that each gets better results. In my work as an investor relations professional, this is very helpful. Another book on a related subject is THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION which reviews how bad thinking habits stall progress by over 95% from what is possible. The authors also focus on better communications and how to notice when you have bad thinking habits. You should read both books for the best results.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I picked this book up because somebody online recommended it, and the topic interested me. This has been one of the best books I've ever bought. Dr. Cialdini told me things I already knew, just had never put any actual thought into. After having read most of the book I was able to apply the material into my life and I think it helped me from making a bad decision related to my higher education. I highly recommend everyone read this!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic - One of those Life-Changing Books
Review: I first was introduced to Cialdini's work during an "Intro to Managerial Psychology" class in the early 90's. I have found the concepts in this legendary book to be useful again and again in everything I do in business. His was the first book I read that had the perfect balance of "down to earth" explanations with academic underpinnings, and a reasonable path to apply different topics.
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