Influence
A few years ago I started reading Influence — The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Cialdini and was blown away. It was so interesting I just couldn’t put it down.
The book describes how our brain makes shortcuts in order to make quick decisions and save energy. A trivial example is always putting the left shoe on first. Such shortcuts are also present in animals and have been built over the years also due to social pressure.
Cialdini identified 6 patterns and added a 7th one afterwards, which can be used to influence others. This means, get others to comply and act in a certain way that otherwise they wouldn’t have.
This can be done intuitively or after learning it. It can be used ethically or to exploit and manipulate for compliance.
1. Reciprocity
The urge to return a favor
Generic examples:
- Free coffee at a clothing shop > buy an item
- Free cheese sample > buy the cheese
- Candy that comes with the restaurant bill > higher tip
- Donation collectors on the street giving you a free flower > make a donation
How you can make use at work:
- Volunteer, help others, like organizing a meetup
- Do a favor to another team or department
- Bring cupcakes to the office
- Give positive feedback to peers
- Support activities like hiring
- Share valuable resources
- Teach, give advice (make sure it’s desired)
2. Commitment/Consistency
The tendency to follow commitments and be seen as a consistent person
Generic examples:
- “Do you intend to vote?” > increase chances you will, when you respond “yes”
- “Do you care about animals?” > eventually donate to the zoo
- “Is the safety of your family important to you?” > buy fire safety products
- “I only use apple products” > will not switch to even advantageous offers
- “Are you a person that arrives on time?” > increase likelihood when saying “yes”
How you can make use at work:
- “Are you interested in finding a solution?” > resolve a dispute
- “Is the benefit of the team important to you?” > behavior to better support the team
- “Is becoming senior your goal?” > following a growth plan
- “Will you arrive on time to this meeting?” > more likely after saying “yes”
- Get buy-in when leading a change > people will want to follow through
- Capture agreements in writing > they are always visible and referenceable
- Challenge decisions that are not aligned with commitments > keep on track
3. Social proof
Follow what everyone else is doing or not doing
Generic examples:
- Go to a bar with a long queue > a sign it’s good
- Not cross in red light when other pedestrians wait > this is the way to behave
- Presenting testimonials for goods and services > others know it’s good
- Recorded laughter in sitcoms > assert it’s funny
- “85% of our guests used only one towel” > act like majority
- Bestseller book or product of a category > clear signal it’s good
- “30,000 followers” > many chose to follow this person
How you can make use at work:
- Use certification and experience to support your opinion > proof of knowledge
- Give examples of other companies doing it “this way” > good companies chose it
- Present researches and books > evidence
- Demonstrate how other teams already do it and benefit > parts of our org already do it
- Receive public endorsements > others know your worth
- Publicly give positive feedback and celebrate wins > reinforce what good looks like
4. Liking
Likelihood to comply with requests from people we like or are similar
Generic examples:
- “I also went to Princeton!” > we’re similar
- “My parents also live in Hamburg” > we have something in common
- “I am a Dodgers fan” > we have something in common
- Referral programs for recruiting > you like us, bring your friends, and we like you, bring more
- Humor in a commercial ad > positive brand perception
- Physically attractive salesperson > comply to be liked
How you can make use at work:
- Get to know or “osint” colleagues hobbies and casually bring up shared ones > bond
Osint = Open Source Intelligence — learn about them from places like social media - Say a few words in they native language > bond, show effort
- Give sincere compliments > bond, credibility, recognition
- Build genuine relationship and trust on 1:1 > bond
- Be vulnerable by admitting mistakes and asking for help > build trust
- Small talk, chit-chat, water-cooler talk > bond
- Mirror their words, body language, speed of talking, communication style, use of emojis > similarity
5. Authority
Inclination to obey authority figures
Generic examples:
- A bank guard in uniform directing traffic > obedience to uniform even when not related
- A doctor/athlete/mom in a commercial ad > they know for sure
- Tiktok influencers > they built audience that follows, they know
How you can make use at work:
- Use title or role power (as manager) to make decision > authority granted by the company
- Use expertise power (“go-to” person) > you know
- Build credibility and track record of success > evidence
- Bring in an expert on a topic > external authority
- Find allies with authority to support your view > authority support
6. Scarcity
Higher desirability and value for exclusive or limited resources
Generic examples:
- Visit a temple that opens to the public once every 100 years > can’t miss it
- Limited time offers > chance will be gone soon
- Only one room left in this hotel > hurry up and get it
- Only one item left in storage > buy it quickly, don’t overthink and compare
- Only 10 models of a luxury car > succeed to obtain a famous and limited resource
How you can make use at work:
- You have 3 days to decide if you join us > job offers expire (other reasons apply)
- Only the top 2% of engineers make it here > exclusivity if candidate accepts an offer
- Only 4 of you can join the new task force > exclusive club within the company
- We must finish this task by tomorrow 5pm > deadline pressure, time scarcity
7. Unity
The will to belong to something bigger than ourselves
Generic examples:
- Common name “We are googlers” > give a unique shared name to all members
- “Here at Acme we’re a family” > it’s more than just you
- Cults, r.g. flat-earthers > we all know something others don’t
How you can make use at work:
- “Join the elite club of full-stack developers” > influence engineers to generalize
- “What we do here is saving the planet, so we must…” > great purpose you work for
- Branded swag — T shirts, haps, backpacks, laptop stickers > proudly belong
- Team events and parties > celebrate together
Use this power carefully!
As a side note, Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking by Hadnagy is another very interesting book about how this knowledge was translated into methods that were applied in the real world.
