If you could read just one book on how to be more effective in business and life, I'd pick Influence. It's a tour de force that Cialdini has somehow made more marvelous. ( )

Good, but felt a bit outdated. I think I'd read too many things that cite the same studies for it to feel novel? ( )

one of the classics!

The is an absolute must read for students of social psychology, but those not as interested in psychology will appreciate this book as well. Cialdini's book is very well written and explains how easily we are swayed on a day to day basis by things that we don't put as much time and thought into as we should. Cialdini is the master of being able to explain psych science in a way that is not only accessible, but absolutely entertaining. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. Excellent work, Cialdini! ( )

Hoe eenvoudig het is om ons te misleiden wordt effectief en duidelijk uitgelegd in dit boek. Meermaals dacht ik "dat zou mij niet overkomen", terwijl nog een keertje dieper nadenken een aantal voorbeelden opleverde van toen het ook bij mij heeft gewerkt.... Ongelofelijk! Erg leerzaam dus, zeker omdat we in deze tijd van informatie "overstroming" kwetsbaarder blijken te zijn voor mensen die graag (voor eigen gewin) onze volgzaamheid willen. ( )

Summary: An intesting book about the way humans use and abuse automatic behaviour. Kind of like the Gruen Transfer tv show in book form.

Things I Liked:

Scientific basis: Many if not all of his main points are backed up by at least one scientific study which he mentions and often critiques or demonstrates the flaws of.

Amusing examples: Stories submitted by the readers and the ones provided by the author himself are easy to engage with and use relevant examples.

Integration: Towards the end of the book a lot of the stories while demonstrating one principal actually backreference some of the earlier ones. I
enjoyed this and felt it helped me in understand the general themes and messages of the author.

Thing I thought could have been improved:

80s feel: I'm not quite sure what era it was but a lot of the examples seemed to be from way back when (car sales people; door to door salesmen). It would have been good if the books could have been updated for the modern contexts of Internet scams and viagra commericals ;-)

Text based: Picture tells a thousand words and I think a few diagrams might have helped reinforce the material. As it was I felt I was forgetting some of the old stuff while learning the new stuff. Some pictures may have helped to stem the bleed and provide some simple ways to review the material.

Standout:

Story of 38 people who watched someone get attacked three times and eventually killed while the person screamed for help in NY city. Why'd they do it? Automatic behaviour. ( )

Presents lots of (20th-century) research on how people can be influenced through different tactics, often unconsciously. It kind of points to how weak (and gullible...) people actually are, despite our high ideals and self-expectation. (One thing I found particularly memorable from the book was the tendency for society/companies/universities to favor/recruit good-looking or well-dressed people despite claiming looks don't impact their assessment. We're doing this unconsciously even though we know we shouldn't!) The author gave readers some encouragement and suggestions on how to avoid being manipulated by sales people who try to persuade you to buy stuff :D I think it's a good thing to reflect upon our weaknesses from time to time, and this reflection can make us more vigilant in future similar situations. ( )

The standard text on persuasion has a new chapter on affinity. That makes sense with marketing's sharper focus on purpose, but marketing psychology guru Cialdini doesn't provide much encouragement. Tribalism and shared grievances are motivators; people think in terms of race instead of the human race. As with any other form of influence, this makes us easy to con, but the author believes that forewarned is forearmed. Cialdini would love journalists and designers to refocus attention on our need for connections across groups. "Am I being naive here?" he concludes. "Maybe. But maybe not." I'm with you, man.

The topic and ideas presented themselves were strong and salient. However, I believe because most of the arguments presented in this book have either been refuted since it was written or has become part of common knowledge in Psychology that I found it a boring read.

I think this book is best read by people who want a good introduction to the Psychology of persuasion.

However, If you're already familiar with Cognitive Biases, and social Psychology this might not be the most engaging read. I'd say my biggest gripe was that the author would write in 3-4 pages what he had already made clear in one paragraph. ( )

"Influence happens when a person believes in the dream of another person through listening, assessing, and in seeing the benefit of helping the other person by being persuasive towards the other person in following their conscious and their own mind."

Written in high level English but easy to understand, he presents six principals of persuasion in high level of detail within every chapter relevant to one principal concentrating on automatic human actions in real life. He introduces several examples and defines where it’s most powerful in a conversational way, illustrating the concept of every principal that makes the reader ask questions about the application of this principal in his field of expertise. He defines the variances of city and suburban human psychology and shows how the principals interact with each other in real life. Reading the book provides a framework for psychology self assessment based on the principals as indicators of measurement; readers in reading chapters connect the principal effect with incidence they experienced in their life. In some areas of the book, the reader loses interest in reading because it becomes dry because of the examples related to military and secret service.
Continue reading: https://husamtalib.com/influence/ ( )

I learned tons about how we’re constantly bamboozled by our human tendencies. I listened to the audiobook of this, so I’m going to try to go back and take notes on it or use somebody else’s notes to summarize it for me. Worth a read if you want to be a better negotiator. ( )

This is the book I've been looking for the last five years without realizing it. It presents a theoretical approach that unifies all of the bits and pieces of the psychology I know. Influence tied a nice little bow around everything -- pretty fantastic.

What I got out of this book was not so much how to influence people, but more how to influence myself, and the lines along which I should expect to be influenced. Every two pages I found myself staring out into space while I tried to connect all the dots in my mind. I'm not sure if others would get as much out of this book as I have, but I'd recommend it anyway. ( )

How Do You Influence People?

People have tried to influence others for centuries now. They will probably continue to do so in the coming centuries. How can you influence people’s minds? This is a question that haunts people.

In the last few decades, several authors have studied this subject. There is an article in Forbes that lists five ways to influence people. David van Rooy in Inc.com lists six ways you can influence people.

Searching the internet will throw up a host of material on the subject. These articles focus on strategies.

In what way is Robert Cialdini’s book, “Influence” different?

Synopsis of the book.

In his preface, the author writes about how he himself has been ‘victim’ to some of these methods—or strategies. This prompted him to study the way you can influence people’s minds and actions.

He then analyzes the six primary tools of influence that people and companies use at various points in time. These are:

1. Reciprocation
2. Commitment & Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Liking,
5. Authority
6. Scarcity

In each chapter, Robert Cialdini analyzes how people use, and misuse, these “tools of influence” sometimes to sell products, sometimes to influence your opinion, or for various other purposes.

The author has analyzed how these tools work, and what makes them so effective.

I like two additional things. Robert includes a section in which he suggests strategies, or approaches, to help us counter some of these influencing strategies people use.
He concludes each chapter with a letter from a reader. This person writes about how they were affected by the particular factor that is the focus of that chapter.
Overall Impression

Last year, I did a course by Guy Kawasaki on Udemy, and this was one of the two books he had strongly recommended we read.

I am glad that I bought it and read it. It is an excellent book. I have highlighted many sections and made many notes throughout the book. It is invaluable. ( )

Considered a classic, and a little dated. Anecdotal, often superseded by newer science like Kahneman & Tversky, Dan Ariely, etc. ( )

Have you ever felt compelled to do something? A marketer or salesperson may be using a weapon of influence against you. If you receive something for free, you are more than likely going to comply with a request. Have you ever noticed that volunteer organizations give you something free before they ask you for a donation? These weapons of influence were cataloged by Robert Cialdini in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. It is a book all marketers should read. Read more ( )

Although there are thousands of different tactics that compliance practitioners employ to produce yes, the majority fall within six basic categories. ... The book is organized around these six principles, one to a chapter. The principles—consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity—are each discussed. He also covers why we take mental shortcuts, which work for us most of the time, but sometimes leave us vulnerable to manipulation, and discuses strategies to avoid being conned.

1-- Consistency
2-- Reciprocation
3-- Social Proof
4-- Authority
5-- Liking
6-- Scarcity

2018.01.11 Purchased a Kindle edition because it was in a recommended list of 22 books from Medium. ( )

A must read for everyone!
Wonderful book written in a humorous and informative manner, just loved it. ( )

A good book that synthesizes a lot of the latest in brain science related to persuasion into one easy-to-read book. Because it is not about brain science directly there are more in depth books that might give more background that would be helpful, but if one is willing to just accept the science this book is good. Recommended. ( )

An excellent book that every (business) leader should read. Particularly if these concepts are not innate knowledge and practices for said business leaders. Recommended. ( )

Book with rich info. However, the book is pretty long winded on some topics and short on others.

4.5 stars ( )

Powerful, insightful book on marketing from the perspective of the buyer. As an author, I had difficulty trying to identify my core readership. This book helped and I discovered my most-devoted fans were not the demographic I had imagined. This book delivers practical techniques and tips on identifying and reaching your buyers (readers). ( )

Very insightful. ( )

The techniques described in this book are very fundamental to our psychology and the way Cialdini has explained them in a lucid manner is commendable. It requires a deep understanding of the subject to be able to bring such perspicuity to a subject area. In his almost story-like narrative, the author has at times over-communicated or repeatedly emphasized a particular phrase often to benefit of the reader.
As a reader, you may feel that you already know some of these tricks of the trade, but then author brings out specific edge cases where a particular influence approach may fail because you just are trying to blindly apply the technique without understanding those edge cases.
A must-read book for anyone looking to come across as a person who gets the buy-ins she or he wants. Obviously, a mere reading of this book won't make you a master. But taking specific notes and applying them in your real life is what matters. ( )

Book with rich info. However, the book is pretty long winded on some topics and short on others.

4.5 stars ( )

Some of the contemporary examples and references are a bit dated (such as the "click-whirr" of tape players), but the information is fascinating and useful. This book is simple to read and should be of great interest to anyone who doesn't want to be conned, swindled, finagled, cheated, misled, or otherwise tricked into loss of life, liberty, or property at the hands of unscrupulous merchants, politicians, or anyone else. ( )