Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - cover

Influence

The Psychology of Persuasion

By Robert B. Cialdini

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About the book

Psychologist Robert B. Cialdini studies the compliance professionals, from car dealers to door-to-door sellers, who get people to say yes, and in some cases he worked undercover in their trades. His premise is that people flooded with information fall back on mental shortcuts that usually serve them well but can be exploited. The book sets out the principles behind those shortcuts, including reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity, with tactics such as the foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face techniques, and explains how to resist them. A later edition adds a seventh principle, unity. It has sold more than two million copies and appeared in 25 languages.

Charlie Munger said Cialdini had a greater impact on his thinking about the subject than any other scientist, and Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson said it taught him much about marketing and psychology and shaped how he promoted Rails and Basecamp.

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This book has 23 recommendations

David Heinemeier Hansson (Co-Founder/Basecamp)

It taught me so much about marketing and human psychology. I keep referring back to that book all the time. It has been instrumental in inspiring the marketing strategies I used to propel Rails and Basecamp.

Charlie Munger (Vice Chairman/Berkshire Hathaway)

Robert Cialdini has had a greater impact on my thinking on this topic than any other scientist.

Ola Olusoga (Co-founder/Populum)

Always take away something new every time I read this book.

Recommended by Noah Kagan (Founder/Sumo)

Source: The 18 Books That Changed My Life

Sean Seton-Rogers (Partner/PROfounders Capital)

Loved how it exposed how conditioned all people are. Being aware of it is important.

Primoz Cigler (Co-Founder/ProteusThemes)

The best business book I read is the Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. I am reading it now for the second time. The reason why I like it so much is that it gives you a good explanation of human psychology that you can use in many different situations. The variety of the techniques and experiments used in the book will help you become a better negotiator, but also it will open your eyes how others are exploiting your human nature every day. Each chapter ends with the 'How to Say No' which also gives you a meaningful advice on how to react when you find yourself in the situations when someone wants to obtain your commitment with different persuasion techniques.

Recommended by Adam Haritan (Founder/Learn Your Land)

Source: Adam Haritan, Founder of Learn Your Land, on How Reading Is a Priority in His Life

Julia Enthoven (Co-Founder/Kapwing)

Recently, I enjoyed and learned a lot from Influence by Robert Cialdini, a book about how you can persuade, sell, and lead using soft skills. I think Cialdini does a great job of blending the research with stories that illustrate how you put his tactics to work.

Rand Fishkin (Founder/Moz)

Robert Cialdini’s seminal work on how and why mankind thinks and acts. Essential reading.

Dean Roller (Founder/Bliss Bean Bags)

Read a classic book like Claude Hopkins Scientific Advertising book and Influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini. Understanding fundamental principles to how humans operate is always a great starting point to focus on. It is easy to forgot tried and test examples when the next "new thing" comes along.

Louis Grenier (Podcaster in Chief/Everyone Hates Marketers)

If you want to understand people better, understand why people do stuff and why they don’t, you have the usual: “Influence” by Cialdini. I think you should read it but I don’t think you should spend too much time on it.

Holger Arians (CEO/Dominet Digital Corporation)

This book is already a classic in terms of how to influence people and persuade them to do what you want, and how to protect yourself from persuasion by others. These are two must-have skills for leaders and you should continually work on improving them.

Recently, the author has updated his advice with the book Pre-Suasion, with examples based on modern business interactions. However, you should start with the core principles explained in the original book and then follow up with updated evidence in the new one.

Recommended by Bryan Choo (Founding Director/The Smart Local)

Source: Bryan Choo, Founding Director of The Smart Local, on Broadening World Views through Books

Jeff Gibbard (Chief Brand Officer/From The Future)

There are five books that, when taken together, form the majority of my perspective on business: [...] Influence.

Tobi Lütke (Founder & CEO/Shopify)

Influence was just the most mind-bending book you can imagine, because it essentially taught you always humans are flawed and influential and how, yes, computers are predictable. And you can deal with it.

Anant Jain (Co-Founder/CommonLounge)

This one is a deep dive into behavioral science and human psychology. It’s shocking, entertaining, and introduces you to the fallibility of your own brain in quite a delightful way.

Chris Goward (Founder/WiderFunnel & GO Group Digital)

Here are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] Influence.

Mikhail Dubov (Founder & CEO/Chattermill)

A few books had a dramatic impact on how I work day to day [...] Influence.

David Brudo (Co-Founder/Remente)

On David Brudo’s David Brudö, Remente's CEO: 'If You Want to Last in the Game, Look at Your Mental Health and Well-Being Just like an Athlete'

Naval Ravikant (CEO & Co-Founder/AngelList)

I read Robert Cialdini’s Influence

Alex Hormozi

It lays the basis of changing behavior of both internally and externally to companies, so with customers and team. Super beneficial for building sales processes, less than sales scripts.

James Clear (Author)

On James Clear’s Best Nonfiction Books - James Clear

Ramit Sethi (Founder/GrowthLab)

On Ramit Sethi’s Here are 50 books I recommend

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David Heinemeier Hansson, Charlie Munger, Ola Olusoga, Noah Kagan, Sean Seton-Rogers, Primoz Cigler, Adam Haritan, Julia Enthoven, Rand Fishkin, Dean Roller, Louis Grenier, Holger Arians, Bryan Choo, Jeff Gibbard, Tobi Lütke, Anant Jain, Chris Goward, Mikhail Dubov, David Brudo, Naval Ravikant, Alex Hormozi, James Clear, Ramit Sethi

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