Science Of Persuasion

June 24, 2011

Interview with Robert Cialdini, author of the book Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

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Mike Carruthers:
People are pretty predictable. And you can use that knowledge to persuade them. Take restaurants for example…

Robert Cialdini:
If they put on the menu, "This is our most popular item," it immediately becomes more popular.
 

Robert Cialdini, author of the book Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, says a lot of people think they're too smart to fall for something like that.

And a lot of people are mistaken because these work so powerfully on us that they're actually below our consciousness.

Another rule of persuasion is you'll be more effective if you give a reason for your request.

If you're at a hotel and you want to have an extended checkout, don't just call and say, "I want to have an extended checkout." Say, "Because I have a meeting there at the hotel until 2:30 and so on". It turns out that people need reasons to justify their actions.

And another principal of persuasion is demonstrated by the mints you get in a restaurant after a meal.

If a waiter comes to the table with your bill and puts a mint on the tray for each of the diners, the waiter's tip will go up three percent. If the waiter is even smarter and puts two mints, tips go up fourteen percent. That's because of the rule for reciprocation; people want to give back to those who have first given to them.