Yes!%2050%20Scientifically%20Proven%20Ways%20to%20Be%20Persuasive

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Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be
Persuasive

• Robert B. Cialdini with Noah J. Goldstein and
  Steve J. Martin

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Six Universal Principles of Social Influence

• Reciprocation
• We feel obligated to return favors performed for
  us.
• Authority
• We look to experts to show us the way.
• Commitment/Consistency
• We want to act consistently with our commitments
  and values.

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• Scarcity
• The less available the resource, the more we want
  it.
• Liking
• The more we like people , the more we want to say
  yes to them.
• And we like and trust people like us
  similarity.
• Social Proof
• We look to what others do to guide our behavior.

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Social Proof

• When people are uncertain about a course of
  action, they tend to look outside themselves and
  to other people around them to guide their
  decisions and actions.
• Ad writer Colleen Szot changed the line at the
  end of an infomercial from, Operators are
  standing by to If operators are busy, please
  call again.
• Sales skyrocketed because operators waiting meant
  no one wanted the product. Busy operators meant
  others were calling and wanted the product.
• Testimonials from satisfied customers are
  powerful social proof.

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Social Proof/Similarity

• Social proof is powerful, but even more powerful
  when the proof or endorsement comes from people
  like us our tribe, our family, our colleagues.
• Positive social proof is much more effective than
  negative social proof.
• 2004 election, 4 years ago, 22 million single
  women didnt vote focused target audience on
  prevalence of problem and validated not voting,
  rather than the undesirability. Negative affects
  of drug use doesnt work, showing wellness does.

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Positives

• Reward good behavior, dont punish bad behavior,
  it just represses it, doesnt change it.
• Rewarding good behavior is the only way to change
  it.
• Appreciation and recognition are infinitely more
  powerful than criticism.

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Too Many Choices Confuse

• The more choices offered in a retirement plan,
  the less often people enrolled than when fewer
  were offered.
• Participation dropped 2 for every ten options
  offered.
• Participation rates zoomed when only two options
  were offered.
• Dont give people too many choices it confuses
  them.

8
People Dont Value Free Stuff

• Instead of offering a free software program,
  offer a 100 software program at no cost to
  you.
• Put a value on your gifts or bonuses or free
  stuff.

9
High, Middle, Low

• If you offer a high-priced, premium product for
  1,000, your medium priced 350 product seems
  like a bargain.
• Even if you were selling it before at 250, but
  without a comparison it might have seemed high.
• Always give a comparison to something higher to
  reinforce the value of your offer.

10
Fear Often Paralyzes

• Fear-arousing communications usually stimulates
  an audience to take action to reduce the threat.
• However, when the fear-producing message
  describes danger but the audience is not told of
  a clear, specific, effective means of reducing
  the danger, they may deal with fear by blocking
  out the message or denying it applies to them.

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Do Favors For People

• We too often ask, Who can help me?
• Instead ask, Whom can I help? and do them a
  favor.
• Sets up an obligation for reciprocity.
• Management is about getting results through other
  people, so set up a web of indebted colleagues
  who have benefitted from favors, attention, and
  listening.

12
Personalize Requests

• When you ask people at work to do something, like
  filling out a survey, instead of sending out a
  mass email, personalize your request with an
  individualized PostIt note.

13
Giving Gifts

• Gifts are appreciated much more if they have
  three qualities
• Significant
• Unexpected
• Personalized

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No Strings Attached

• To increase the sense of obligation to
  reciprocate, act first with no strings attached.
• For example, you give a donation to a charity or
  a candidate at a party you are giving, announce
  it, but indicate that there is no expected quid
  pro quo.
• Others donations will increase.

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Foot-in-the-Door Technique

• Get agreement with a principle.
• Do you believe in safe driving?
• Make a small request (commitment and consistency
  will work in your favor).
• Will you put up a small Safe Driving sign in
  your yard?
• Yes
• Come back next week and ask them to put up a
  bigger sign.
• Commitment and consistency will work in your
  favor again.

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Door-in-the-Face Technique

• Get agreement with a principle.
• Do you believe in safe driving?
• Make a small request (commitment and consistency
  will work in your favor).
• Will you put up a huge Safe Driving sign in your
  yard?
• No
• Will your put up a medium-sized Safe Driving
  sign in yard?
• Yes
• Commitment and consistency work in your favor.

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Labeling

• Assign a trait, attitude, belief, or other label
  to a person, then make a request of that person
  consistent with that label.
• Luke to Darth Vader, I know theres good in
  you.
• Darth Vader saves Luke from the Emperor.

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Ask For Commitment

• Instead of asking, Please call if you have to
  cancel your reservation, ask, Will you please
  call if you have to cancel? and wait for a
  yes.
• Waiting for yes seals the commitment.

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Write Down Commitments

• Writing down your goals and commitments
  strengthen them.
• For you and others, too.
• People make judgments about themselves based on
  observations of their own behavior, and they
  infer more about themselves based on their
  actions than on their notations.

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Behavior Changes Attitudes

• Ask someone who doesnt like you or opposes you
  to do you a favor, and if they do it, they will
  like you better.
• People are motivated to change their attitudes in
  ways that are consistent with their behavior.
• They avoid cognitive dissonance.

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Even a Little Helps

• Even a dollar will help works.
• Simply pointing out that even a small amount
  would be acceptable and worthwhile to you is
  likely to be an effective strategy.
• People who can afford a major contribution think
  a small amount wont help the cause.
• Even a dollar will help worked for Obamas
  campaign.

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Start Low or High?

• If there are going to be lots of bidders, start
  low and social proof will result in the bids
  going up.
• If there are going to be only two bidders, start
  high to anchor a perception of high value.

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Groups Make Better Decisions

• If youre the brightest person in the room,
  youre in trouble because you dont ask for
  advice.
• Groups of people collaborate and work hard to
  come up with a better solution than one person.
• Diversity works.

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Devils Advocates Arent Convincing

• A true, authentic dissenter is much more
  effective than someone selected to act as a
  devils advocate.
• When making a decision, find an authentic,
  committed dissenter.
• It avoids groupthink.

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When Training, Focus on Errors

• When training, use case studies of mistakes and
  errors so people can learn what not to do.
• They dont learn as well from what goes right.

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Turn and Weakness Into a Strength

• Be candid about weaknesses, it demonstrates
  honesty and objectivity.
• The two-sided argument is very persuasive.
• Reveal the bad, the negatives, and the weaknesses
  first.
• Then talk about the good, the positives, and the
  strengths.
• Your credibility soars.

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Take Blame

• Dont play the blame game.
• Take responsibility for mistakes and problems.
• Internal locus of control
• Dont blame outside factors such as economy,
  luck, competitors.
• Not credible.

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Find Similarities

• Potential clients (targets of persuasion) are
  more receptive to sales pitches from those who
  they share similarities such as
• Names (first and last)
• Beliefs
• Hometowns
• Alma maters
• Pointing out similarities can be the first step
  in resolving potentially ugly conflicts with
  coworkers and neighbors.

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Mirroring

• Waiters found they got much larger tips when they
  repeat customers orders back to them exactly as
  verbalized.
• Mirroring creates feeling of liking and
  strengthens bonds of trust between two people.
• Creates openness.

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Smile Authentically

• People can tell the difference between authentic
  and inauthentic smiles.
• In order to be authentic, find something to like
  about a person so you can be authentic.
• We spend too much time finding fault with people.
  Look for positives and well like them more
  and smile more authentically.

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Exclusive Information

• Because of the scarcity principle, people will
  pay more for a product/service they perceive to
  be scarce.
• Theyll pay even more if the information about
  the scarcity came from an exclusive and truthful
  source not generally available to the rest of the
  public.
• If you pass on information that is uniquely known
  by your but fail to point out the exclusivity of
  the information, you could be losing an
  opportunity.

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Loss Aversion

• People are more than twice as motivated to avoid
  a loss as they are to acquire gains.
• Instead of presenting something as a saving,
  youre more persuasive if you frame it in terms
  of what you could lose if you dont act.
• We also get sometimes get tricked by not wanting
  to lose the time spent in the buying or
  negotiating process when faced with a last-minute
  high demand.

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Use Because

• Using the single word because when associated
  with a request can more than double compliance.
• To break in a line say, I want to use the Xerox
  machine because I have only two copies.
• Always back up your requests or points with a
  strong rationale a strong because.

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Be Easy to Pronounce and Read

• People have a greater affection for words that
  are easy to pronounce.
• Company names, stock symbols, people.
• Persuasiveness of a hand-written message is
  influenced by the quality of the hand writing.
• On an easy-to-read font face.

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KISS

• Keep it simple, stupid.
• No jargon or big words
• Were leveraging our assets and establishing
  strategic alliances to create a robust knowledge
  center one with a customer-ruled business
  structure using market-leading technologies to
  maximize our human systems.
• Were consultants.

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Rhyme and Climb

• Research suggests that when marketers have
  mottos, slogans, trademarks, or jingles that
  rhyme their likability and truthfulness
  perception increases.
• Caution and measure will increase your
  treasure.
• Not, Caution and measure will win you riches.

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Perceptual Contrast

• Baseball players swing a heavy bat in the on-deck
  circle so their regular bat will feel lighter in
  comparison.
• Prior experience colors perception.
• High-end hot tub costs 15,000.
• Having it is like having an extra room in your
  house.
• Sales went up 500 because people compared
  15,000 to the cost of a 50,000 bedroom addition.

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A Box of Crayons

• Red, blue, and yellow dull, not memorable.
• Millennium orange, Kermit green cool,
  memorable.
• Unexpected names and ambiguous names cause
  consumers to think and, thus, are more desirable,
  likable, and memorable.

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Social Norms Marketing

• People are generally motivated to behave in line
  with perceived social norms.
• When you send a message, accompany it with some
  evidence of social norms, because people do not
  have accurate perceptions of social norms.
• 65 percent of students have three or fewer
  drinks when they party.
• Students thought the average was much higher.

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Mirrors Reduce Theft

• People tend to act in ways that reinforce the
  image they want to have of themselves.
• Therefore, put a mirror on the wall so people can
  see themselves and they will act as if they are
  being watched by themselves.
• A mirror in a stock room reduced theft by 50
  percent.

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Emotions Affect Decision Making

• When people are in an emotional state (especially
  being sad), it affects their decision making.
• When in an emotional state people are persuaded
  to do things they would not do when in a neutral
  (unemotional) state.
• When in an emotional state (anger, e.g.) people
  do things they would not do if in a neutral
  state.
• Dont send that email when youre angry or
  emotional. Sleep on it.

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Concentrate and Be Skeptical

• When people are tired or distracted, they are
  more easy to persuade.
• When you have to make an important decision,
  concentrate, eliminate distractions, stay alert
  and calm, and remain skeptical.

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Give Em Coffee

• Caffeine keeps people awake and makes them more
  alert.
• Make your sales pitch (if its good and well
  reasoned) or presentation when people are most
  alert.
• In the morning after coffee, for example.

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Face-to-Face Best

• Face-to-face is by far the most effective
  communication.
• Voice inflection, gestures, and non-verbal
  communication can be very effective.
• If you cant meet face-to-face, use a video
  conference or video chat.
• Get to know someone via Facebook picture and
  profile.
• Emails do not convey emotion and can be easily
  misunderstood.

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Know the Culture

• Individualistic cultures (US, UK, Western Europe)
• Its about me.
• Collectivistic cultures (Asia, South America,
  Africa, Eastern Europe)
• Its about we.
• In individualistic cultures, ads and messages
  that appeal to individuals make me better,
  prettier, richer work.
• In collectivistic cultures, ads and messages that
  appeal to the family, group, tribe make us
  better, richer work.