The art of influencing others
Robert Cialdini's 6 Fundamental Laws of Persuasion
🏷️ Categories: Social relationships, Decision making and biases, Behavior
Every minute 240 million emails are sent, 42 million Whatsapp messages are sent, 360,000 messages are tweeted, and 6.3 million Google searches are made (Statista, 2024).
Every minute all that happens.
Every minute.
In the midst of all the noise generated by this overdose of information it is crucial to have an engaging and distinguishable voice, otherwise you will be just one more, one more in the deafening noise.
To be the person who makes the information noise dissipate and everyone pays attention to you, there are techniques you can apply in your actions, speech and writing. Robert Cialdini, a renowned psychologist, has studied them for years.
Here I bring you the 6 fundamental laws of influence.
1. Reciprocity Law
Human beings tend to return favors as a gesture of gratitude.
We have a strong tendency to return favors, if they do you a disinterested favor and you do not return it you feel some discomfort. Do a favor in a disinterested way, days later ask that same person for a favor showing that you need their help.
The feeling of debt is enormous.
Example: Free samples in supermarkets. When we receive a free sample we feel indebted and are more likely to buy the product. A study conducted by Regan in 1971 showed that people who received a free Coca-Cola were more likely to buy.
This feeling of indebtedness is enhanced if you let the person know that it took you time to make it, you did it with your hands or you had to travel far to give it to them. An example might be giving a homemade cake or craft as a gift without notice.
2. Law of commitment and consistency
Once you make a commitment, you find it hard to refuse.
We tend to maintain consistency between what we say and what we do so that we don't look like liars to others. If you accepted something, it is difficult now to refuse a bigger request because you already committed at the beginning.
Example: Foot-in-the-door technique. Start by asking for a small favor that anyone could accept, gradually ask for larger favors. A study by Freedman and Fraser in 1966 showed that those who agreed to put up a small sign in their yard with awareness messages like "Keep California Clean" were more likely to agree to put up a much larger sign later.
It makes sense if you think about it.
Going from having no sign to putting up a large sign is a substantial change, however, from a medium to a large sign, the change is not even noticeable. Besides, why would you refuse now if you already said you didn't mind putting up a sign?
You start by giving your pinky finger and they end up grabbing you by the shoulder.
3. Law of Social Proof
If many people do or say something it will be because they are right.
We tend to imitate others to evaluate whether our behavior is appropriate or not, especially in situations of uncertainty because we do not know what to do. It makes evolutionary sense, if many people do something it will be because it is the best option.
It works even if the group behavior goes against the individual's beliefs.
It is enhanced by social validation: We feel good if others approve of our behavior, so doing what others do sounds good.
Example: A study by Chevalier and Mayzlin in 2006 showed that positive reviews increased book sales on Amazon, for this reason many companies put fake reviews, there is a marketing behind what looks like "opinions" Don't think only of this study, there are thousands like it.
Giving testimonials and success stories from previous customers conveys confidence and increases the likelihood that others will follow the same behavior. Are you familiar with the phrases "more than 10,000 people have already tried it" or "9 out of 10 recommend it"?
That's how a lot of advertising works.
4. Law of Authority
People tend to obey authority figures or experts without complaint.
Without certainty on a subject, we trust experts even when they may give unfounded opinions or be wrong. Logically, an expert knows more, but that does not mean that there are no debates, doubts and new discoveries in the scientific community.
Example: A classic study by Bickman in 1974 wanted to see the difference in bystander obedience as a function of whether or not the person was dressed as a security guard. It was found that bystanders largely obeyed instructions when the person was dressed as a security guard.
Giving credentials, being a recognized figure or wearing professional attire are very convincing. There are endless examples of ads where they pay an actor to dress up as a doctor and sell a product.
Then they end the ad with the ultimate lie, "9 out of 10 recommend it".
5. Law of Agreeableness
If I like you, you are right.
We are more inclined to trust those we like, who share ideals with us or are attractive people.
Example: Marketing campaigns using celebrities are a classic. In addition, there is a study by Eagly and Chaiken in 1975 that showed that attractive people are perceived as more persuasive just because of their physique. With the same arguments in the same situation, attractive people were perceived as being right on more occasions.
That's why in so many ads they pay celebrities to sell something. It is obvious that they have been paid, we all know that, but they increase sales.
Cristiano Ronaldo advertising fast food. Does it make sense? No, but it works.
6. Law of Scarcity
If there are few units left, it is worth buying.
We value more that which is limited just because it is limited, even when we don't really care about it. This is related to the phenomenon of "fear of missing out", "FOMO", for its acronym in English.
Example: "limited time offer" or "last items in stock" promotions use scarcity as an incentive to buy. The most interesting study is that of Worchel, Lee and Adewole in 1975. The researchers showed jars of cookies to participants. In one case the jar contained 10 cookies (high availability), while in the other, the jar contained only 2 cookies (low availability). They were the same cookies, but participants rated the jar with 2 cookies as tastier.
Creating a sense of urgency and limiting availability encourages people to buy.
Well, that's it.
The ethics of convincing
We are always trying to influence others.
Where will you go with your friends on the weekend, what movie will you see, where will you go for dinner, what will you eat at home today... You can influence the final decision if you apply these techniques, but to what extent is the influence we exert ethical?
Are you trying to influence for your own benefit or just because you prefer your proposal with no other intentions behind it?
Act ethically.
Don't manipulate people.
💭 It's your turn: Did you know about these effects? Did you apply any of them without knowing it?
✍️ Quote of the Day: "You will never fully convince someone that they are wrong; only reality can do that." Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game
Convincing is not my thing, I'll say goodbye, see you soon 👋.
Referencias 📚
Bickman, L. (1974). The Social Power of a Uniform1. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 4(1), 47-61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb02599.x
Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews. Journal Of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345-354. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.3.345
Cialdini, R. B., PhD. (2009). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Collins.
Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1975). An attribution analysis of the effect of communicator characteristics on opinion change: The case of communicator attractiveness. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 32(1), 136-144. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076850
Freedman, J. L., & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Compliance without pressure: The foot-in-the-door technique. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 4(2), 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023552
Regan, D. T. (1971). Effects of a favor and liking on compliance. Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology, 7(6), 627-639.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(71)90025-4Statista. (2024, 2 enero). User-generated internet content per minute 2023 | Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/195140/new-user-generated-content-uploaded-by-users-per-minute/
Worchel, S., Lee, J., & Adewole, A. (1975). Effects of supply and demand on ratings of object value. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 32(5), 906-914. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.32.5.906
I enjoyed reading this thank you! I must admit I was aware of these having a sales management m background for many years, although I never had reference to the studies.