Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
A self-described “sucker” for sales tactics, Robert Cialdini was every salesman’s dream prospect, and he wanted to know why. To find out, Dr. Cialdini, a social psychologist, worked undercover in fields like sales, PR, advertising, and fund-raising to discover what actually makes people comply with the demands of others. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is the summary of what he learned.
Influence identifies six ways that people are consistently, unsuspectingly, and (often) automatically persuaded: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency. Knowing these natural psychological tendencies will help you in two ways: (1) you’ll become more persuasive, and (2) you’ll be able to identify when these tendencies are present, protecting you from being misled in the future.
As a side note, Influence is on the recommended reading list of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, who picked up some of his standard investing criteria from this book. Munger was so impressed by Cialdini’s thorough explanation of how rational decision-making can break down that he gave Cialdini one Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway stock (currently worth ~$118,000) for his “contributions to humanity.” How’s that for a strong recommendation?
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