What are Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion and influence?

Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion and influence are: Reciprocity, Liking, Commitment and Consistency, Authority, Social Proof, Scarcity, and his new 7th principle, Unity.

Why you need to know Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion?

Simplified by Cialdini, they are principles that are quickly learn-able. And with little practice, can be used as weapons of influence at work and in life to get what you want. The key is to make people want to say yes to you even before making your request. Cialdini's 6 shortcuts and principles of influence show you the right way to do this in his bestselling book, Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. This book will truly transform your life and is a must-read if you want to understand how to persuade people.

How do you use Cialdini’s 6 weapons of influence ethically?

A word of caution on the 6 principles of influence from Robert Cialdini. As you can see, these are powerful ways to gain compliance from people. One should use this persuasion skillset only to persuade people ethically. That is, towards things that benefit them. Not just for manipulating them to buy things or give up what is rightly theirs. If you use the influence principles for ethical persuasion, their impact will profoundly change your life for the better. You will find that others are more willing to take suggestions and advice from you. And you will be able to stamp your leadership style on major accomplishments at work. So many things you've been trying to change in your life will now become easy to alter to your benefit.

How do Cialdini’s six universal principles of persuasion work?

To understand why the persuasion approaches from Cialdini work so well you first need to know how human decision-making occurs. The latest research in social psychology shows us that humans make most decisions in our primitive, limbic brains -- our subconscious. This part of our brain is involved in fast, instinctive responses. There is no time to think about these decisions or else you get eaten up by the lion in the Savannah. Fight-or-flight, aversion, fear, anger and other strong emotions fall in this realm. This part of our brain is involved in what psychologists call system 1 thinking -- fast, instinctive responses. There is no time to think about these decisions or else you get eaten up by the lion in the Savannah. Fight-or-flight, aversion, fear, anger and other strong emotions fall in this realm.