THE 6 PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASION

Persuasion is often more effectual than force

-Aesop

Persuasion is an ART, believed by many.

Everyday, we are surrounded by persuasion. Persuade by people,
objects and believe in a direct or in an indirect way.

Robert Cialdini’s a two and a half year program of research into the
training programs of all the different influence professions to see what
they do to get people to say YES.

There are hundreds of tactics but only six universal principles where
identified by Robert Cialdini are:

• Reciprocity - One of the most fundamental concepts of persuasion is

clearly offering what you wish to get.

• Scarcity - Scarcity increase value.

• Authority - When perceived as an expert in an area, other’s will be

more likely to defer to you.

• Consistency - Strong, public and voluntary engagement, which results

in individuals genuinely keeping to their promise.

• Liking - People like others who like them or treat them as friends.

• Consensus - People rely on other people's social guidance about how

to think, behave, and respond in certain cases.

 1. AUTHORITY - “Follow the leader”

In the fields of sociology and political science, Authority is the legitimate

power that a person or a group of persons consensually possess and
practice over other people.

Have you ever done something, told by someone, just because they
were in a position of authority?

Have you ever believed something told, by someone, just because they
were in a position of authority?

If you ever have, you have just helped confirm the science of
persuasion, one being authority.

People are afraid of what they don't know. People tend to listen to or
believe in, when it comes from a higher status, if they are not familiar or
are expert in that field.

The most common way to establish such authority is through display of

diplomas, credentials, awards, use of credentials etc.

If your doctor tells you to do something, you’ll listen and take the advice
in consideration, because the doctor’s knowledge and understanding
supersedes your own health care skills.

Personally, I don't believe much in spirits or supernatural powers etc.

Because I have never experienced or felt it. But, when my Psychology
teacher told us about her experience with the same, the chances of me
believing that something like that do exist are higher. Because she from
a psychology back ground and therapist this comes to her field of
expertise which makes her the authority in this scenario over me.

 2. RECIPROCITY - “I’ll Scratch Your Back, You Scratch Mine”

In social psychology, reciprocity is a social norm of responding to a

positive action with another positive action, rewarding kind actions.

Have you ever greeted someone simply because they were the first to
greet you?

You are out for lunch with a friend. The bill arrives. Your friends pays and
doesn’t accept the split, but you make a not in the back of your head to
pay next time.

This is because we feel the need to do good, if others have done good
to us.

It can be done in many ways depending on what personality you

possess or what kind of perceptive you have.
These small gestures of kindness lead a long way for yourself as well as
for the person you are doing it to.

Greeting people, giving them small gifts, helping them, treating everyone
with respect such gestures can lead to reciprocity.

But, like said by Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton- “it’s very important
that you don’t give with the hope of getting back. Offer content with the
true spirit of helping. If you do so, people will acknowledge your effort
and oblige.”

Respecting the law of karma, people feel the need, the urge to do good
without expecting anything from it, feel of expectations.

The best example of reciprocity in today’s world can be taken from

social media, INSTAGRAM.

People tend to follow people who follow them. They tend to like,
comment or share posts of that person who has done the same for
them.

 3. LIKING - “We Are Influenced By People We Like”

A feeling of fondness.

Why do you like someone?

Why do you like something?
Have you ever agreed to something or someone, for no particular
reason, without giving a thought, just because it came a person you
like??

I believe, we like someone or something because we see something in

that person or object which we possess.

Why do we like someone or something over other?

We do, because they reflection of our own past, present, future, our
personality, our flaws, our mistakes, our believes.

Liking has a lot of impact on our everyday work, idea, thoughts etc.

This is where the LIKING principle comes in act.

We are able to accept without thinking, when the decision is made by

the person we like.

You will start wearing a particular brand of clothes because, the brand
ambassador, is your favourite celebrity, of the person you look up to.

In a psychological experiment, strangers were asked to choose a

painting they like between two. After choosing their favourite of the two
painting, they were allowed to see the choices of others. The next task
given to the same strangers was to give money to all the participants.
The study found that people gave more money to those people who
liked the same paintings.

Among other reasons, this is the reason by companies choose

celebrities or sport person for brand.

Now a days this task is being done by social media influencers.

Companies target this influencers to help the company raise their
customers.

 CONCLUSION

Cialdini’s principles of persuasion can be used by everyone to make

quick decisions at work place or in personal life as well.
These principles are active everyday, everywhere, we witness these
principles without getting acknowledged by them and are registered in
our subconscious.

REFERENCE

1. Influence at work :
https://www.influenceatwork.com/principles-of-persuasion/#consensus

2. Medium
https://medium.com/@alyjuma/the-6-principles-of-influence-how-to-
master-persuasion-2f8c581da38b

3. Neil Patel
https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-to-use-cialdinis-principles-of-persuasion-
to-improve-your-content-marketing-strategy/

4. Growth Hero
http://growthhero.net/case-study-cialdini-principles-persuasion-1-million-
likes/

5. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liking
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocity