Influence

   

Influence By Robert Cialdini

I read this book and really got influenced by Robert, a professor of psychology at Arizona state university who is an expert in the matters of persuasion, negotiation and compliance and has delved deep into enigmatic mysteries that explain why people behave the way they behave.

The benefit of this book is not just in understanding how we can influence others but more importantly in the way we can get influenced by the others. Robert suggests that the best way to be successful is through authenticity and getting influenced only by the people we admire.

I liked the point stated by Robert that people get hooked if they are requested for a favor, with a reason.

• “Excuse me; I need to photocopy five pages. May I use your machine?
• “Excuse me; I need to photocopy five pages. May I use your machine? I am in a desperate rush?

                As per the research work of Robert, the first question worked 60% of the time compared to the second request which worked 94% of the time.

The contrast Principle.

The second principle stated by Robert was more convincing because I have been using that in regular practice.

Whenever my son gets late, I have been asking him, “You want to sleep or not” ? I mostly get a negative answer. But when I rephrased my question asking him, “Do you want to sleep or take Math exercise”? He preferred sleeping.

Commitment and Consistency.

Once we make a choice or commit something we try to justify the choice to be right. We get the mental pressure and we tend to prove that the stand taken is right.

Take an example of people who bet on horse races.  Before the tickets are bought the uncertainty revolves rapidly around their minds. However once the choice is made, which is a commitment, they become highly positive and believe that their horse will win.  Similarly if we buy a sample from a company, we will feel obligated to buy the actual product. This rule applies not only in our professional lives but in our personal lives too, where we find it tough to sway from a decision once we’ve taken it.

Following the Public

The other principal is a social proof, where we tend to follow the crowd.  Many people wait for someone to break the traffic signal. Once it is broken by someone,  others feel relaxed to do the crime.  So why do we people follow the public in general?  Generally we think that we are going to commit fewer mistakes by simply following others and even if the decision goes wrong we are not alone to be blamed. A popular word in Hindi for that is-“Humdard”!

Mostly the local shopkeepers use this principle to influence the customers by saying “Madam, Ye wala product running item hai!”

Liking – The friendly Thief.

This principle deals with the concept of likeability that states that we are more likely to be influenced by people we like.

 I remember being called by ‘Club Mahindra Holidays’. They were trying to push the offer by giving the reference of my close friend who had taken the offer a week ago.

Reciprocation- Give and take

According to Robert even when the real purpose behind the favor is a selfish desire of the person/ company doing that favor, we human beings tend to appreciate that favor. It is a simple give and take psychology.

Chances of getting good service in a restaurant are higher when we pay the tip to the waiter before we order dinner.

If we get free samples from a company we will probably feel like purchasing more products from the same company, simply because we feel obligated to do so.

Scarcity – The rule of few

People react quickly when they sense scarcity. The college administrators often scare the interested people by stating that there are limited seats left. This trick has been working well for the online products as well. So how do we fall in the traps even when we are aware of the trick? All said and done we always think about a small possibility of that scarcity being authentic. "What if it isn't a gimmick?"- is what we think  and hence the trick is working even after three decades.

Dr. Cialdini offers several methods to the marketers to allure their customers and at the same time he dispenses golden advice for the people who want to avoid falling into traps.

Thanks  Robert for giving wonderful insights.

Disclaimer:

 The summary written by me is just an attempt to preserve the good points stated by Robert Cialdini.

In this article I have mixed my experiences, observations, foresights and my perceptions.

Vinay Wagh

Bulls Eye, Nasik