In January we kicked off a new MBB series to highlight transformational books for women called, Transformational Book Series – Our Picks. This month we’re excited to continue the series by sharing with you our next transformational book in the series, Influence by Robert B. Cialdini.

In his book, Robert Cialdini explains how the “weapons of influence” are used on us in a variety of ways. In a scholarly sometimes amusing tone, he broke down the way humans are persuaded, into very understandable form with his backing of social scientific testing and retesting. In essence, the six universal principles of persuasion – reciprocation, commitment & consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity are the cornerstones from which all persuasive tactics are derived. This book explains how to understand and defend against these pervasive, non-rational influences on our decision-making. One key component that really hits us, is how powerful the deference of authority is, and the cognitive dissonance that it elicits in humans.

Here is a closer look at those 6 ways:

1. Reciprocity – People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The good cop/bad cop strategy is also based on this principle.

2. Commitment and Consistency – If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. Cialdini notes Chinese brainwashing of American prisoners of war to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is marketers making you close popups by saying “I’m signing up” or “No thanks, I prefer not to make more money”. This is a huge one!

3. Social Proof – People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. Conformity, ah!

4. Authority – People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai Massacre. This one can literally get you killed!

5. Liking – People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. Physical attractiveness and stereotypes, ah!

6. Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a “limited time only” encourages sales. This really does work!

The trick is that as the world gets more complex, these 6 things also provide us with social shortcuts, to keep on the straight and narrow with minimal effort. But this also means we have to be vigilant – to make sure we are not being taken advantage of. He notes that we often get that funny feeling in the pit of our stomach when we are being manipulated against our will, and he suggests using that feeling/intuition to our advantage – to recognize when we are at risk. One of the things we especially like about this book is that Cialdini himself is the first to admit that even with all that he knows, even he is not immune to the tricks that are often used, and he provides some very funny examples to show how he personally has been taken advantage of.

This book had to be chosen this early to be in our transformational book picks because it will do just that to you. It will transform you, as it did us here at MBB! It will transform the way you seek to influence others as well as be more aware of the ways in which others can influence you – not necessarily negatively, but in ways that serve them and not you.

This book is revealing! There are lessons in this book that could literally save your life, and your pocket! In addition, this book will not only help you become a skilled persuader, but it will also prepare you to identify when they are being used against you and thus be able to defend yourself against them.

Robert B. Cialdini is a genius, and this book is a jewel. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, this book has something for you. More than using this information for your monetary gain, get this book and study it so you will not fall victim to any of these “tricks.” You may have already fallen for a few, like some of us have here at MBB, but this book will ensure you do not fall for anymore of them.

Get this book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition, read it, and guard yourself against the travesties and tricks that are used everyday, and mostly for bad.

With love, gratitude, and empowered attitude,