Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion

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The book itself is worthy of five stars but the narration is perhaps the worst I’ve ever experienced in my life. What made me about apoplectic is that his fifth edition continues his inaccurate presentation of the Catherine Genovese myth despite that it has been widely discredited.

It panders to the audience by using overly simple language and repeating the same idea 5 times to make sure that the reader really understood. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.When selling something, highlight the benefits the person stands to lose by not choosing your product, as people are more motivated by the thought of losing something than that of gaining something.

He entered into programs offered by different business enterprises and marketing agencies to train sales staff and dealers in ‘the art of persuasion’. Cialdini, still a top consultant in this field, has a tiny disclaimer at the end of the book saying how he's aware that this knowledge could be misused, but doesn't go much further. The techniques described in this book are very fundamental to our psychology and the way Cialdini has explained them in a lucid manner is commendable. Let's just say my expectations were exceeded and I will be giving this book multiple listens with my notepad. By reading this book, you'll become more conscious of how others (salespersons, politicians, and businesspersons) may be trying to manipulate you.I read recently that if you trace the locations (by location-aware cell phones) of a small population in an American city over a 6-month period, on average, the movement collapses into standard predator patterns.

This book has taught me a lot of principles that I will be personally using and also that I now know to avoid and recognize from other people.It's a classic that has held up to multiple re-reads even without the expanded material in this newest edition, but for those already familiar with previous editions, this release provides an excellent reason to revisit Cialdini's work yet again.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that such a popular book is so loaded with conventional wisdom and random assumptions presented as quasi-scientific. Commitment and Consistency - If people agree to make a commitment toward a goal or idea, they are more likely to honor that commitment. The main point, as I take it, is that we are living in an age where we have access to more and more information all the time. But I remember clearly how I gobbled it all up, when I read this for the first time, and it’s also clear to me that some of it has made its way into how I use to communicate ever since. A couple of months ago, I read somewhere that when it comes to the psychology of persuasion and influence, Cialdini is the “daddy” of this subject.Making something sooooo drawn out and repetitive to the point of infinity I couldn't make it to the final chapters.