Sublime

one of the most potent of the weapons of influence around us—the rule for reciprocation.7 The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. If a woman does us a favor, we should do her one in return; if a man sends us a birthday present, we should remember his birthday with a gift of our own; if a couple

4. Social Proof

social norm greatly influences our decisions and behavior, often more so than personal gains or even moral standards.

Like in Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Dr. Robert B. Cialdini breaks down the psychology behind why people say “yes.” There are six universal principles behind persuasion: 1. Reciprocity – pay back what we receive 2. Scarcity – people want what they can't have 3. Authority – people follow credible experts 4. Consistency – consistency with

Professor Robert Cialdini’s research in the field of influence and persuasion discovered that people can be primed to be more receptive to a message. Factors like reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus make us more open to being persuaded.

Think of the implications. People we might ordinarily dislike—unsavory or unwelcome sales operators, disagreeable acquaintances, representatives of strange or unpopular organizations—can greatly increase the chance that we will do what they wish merely by providing us with a small initiating favor.

Attention should be channeled to one or another of the universal principles of influence treated in my earlier book, Influence: reciprocity, liking, authority, social proof, scarcity, and consistency.

Influence, Robert Cialdini explains, “When human beings make a choice or take a stand, they have an incredibly powerful compulsion to remain consistent with those commitments.”2