Harnessing the Science of Persuasio by Robernt B. Cialdini

1 Harnessing the Scienceof Persuasionby Robert B. CialdiniA LUCKY FEW HAVE IT; most of US do not. A handful/\ of gifted "naturals" simply know how to cap-/ \ ture an audience, sway the undecided, andconvert the opposition. Watching these masters ofpersuasion work their magic is at once impressiveand frustrating. What's impressive is not just the easyway they use charisma and eloquence to convinceothers to do as they ask. It's also how eager thoseothers are to do what's requested of them, as if thepersuasion itself were a favor they couldn't waitto frustrating part of the experience is thatthese bom persuaders are often unahle to ac-count for their remarkable skill or pass it on toothers.

2 Their way with people is an art, andartists as a rule are far hetter at doing than atexplaining. Most of them can't offer muchhelp to those of us who possess no morethan the ordinary quotient of charismaand eloquence but who still have to wres-tle with leadership 's fundamental chal-lenge: getting things done through oth-ers. That challenge is painfully familiarto corporate executives, who every dayhave to figure out how to motivateand direct a highly individualisticworkforce. Playing the "Because I'mthe boss" card is out. Even if itweren't demeaning and demoraliz-ing for all concerned, it would beout of place in a world wherecross-functional teams, joint ven-tures, and intercompany part-nerships have blurred the linesof authority.

3 In such an en-vironment, persuasion skillsexert far greater influenceover others' behavior thanformal power structures BUSINESS REVIEWJo leader can succeed without mastering the art of there's hard Science in that skill, too, and a large body3f psychological research suggests there are six basic laws ofrinning friends and influencing 2001 Harnessing the Science of PersuasionWhich brings us back to where we started. Persuasionskills may be more necessary than ever, but how can ex-ecutives acquire them if the most talented practitionerscan't pass them along? By looking to Science . For the pastfive decades, behavioral scientists have conducted exper-iments that shed considerable light on the way certaininteractions lead people to concede, comply, or research shows that persuasion works by appealingto a limited set of deeply rooted human drives and needs,and it does so in predictable ways.

4 Persuasion, in otherwords, is governed by basic principles that can be taught,learned, and applied. By mastering these principles, exec-utives can bring scientific rigor to the business of securingconsensus, cutting deals, and winning concessions. In thepages that follow, 1 describe six fundamental principles ofpersuasion and suggest a few ways that executives canapply them in their own PRINCIPLE OFLiking:People like those who like APPLICATION:Uncover real similarities and offergenuine retailing phenomenon known as the Tupperwareparty is a vivid illustration of this principle in demonstration party for Tupperware products ishosted by an individual, almost always a woman, who in-vites to her home an array of friends, neighbors, and rel-atives.

5 The guests' affection for their hostess predisposesthem to buy from her, a dynamic that was confirmed bya 1990 study of purchase decisions made at demonstra-tion parties. The researchers, Jonathan Frenzen andHarry Davis, writing in the Journal of Consumer Research,found that the guests' fondness for their hostess weighedtwice as heavily in their purchase decisions as their re-gard for the products they bought. So when guests at aTupperware party buy something, they aren't just buy-ing to please themselves. They're buying to please theirhostess as 's true at Tupperware parties is true for businessin general: If you want to influence people, win Controlled research has identified several factorsthat reliably increase liking, but two stand out as espe-Robert B.

6 Cialdini is the Regents' Professor of Psychologyat Arizona State University and the author of Influence: Science and Practice (Allyn & Bacon, 2001), now in its fourthedition. Further regularly updated information about the in-fluence process can be found at compelling-similarity and praise. Similarity liter-ally draws people together. In one experiment, reportedin a 1968 article in the Journal of Personality, participantsstood physically closer to one another after learning thatthey shared political beliefs and social values. And in a1963 article in American Behavioral Scientists, researcherF. B. Evans used demographic data from insurance com-pany records to demonstrate that prospects were morewilling to purchase a policy from a salesperson who wasakin to them in age, religion, politics, or even cigarette-smoking can use similarities to create bonds with a re-cent hire, the head of another department, or even a newboss.

7 Informal conversations during the workday createan ideal opportunity to discover at least one commonarea of enjoyment, be it a hobby, a college basketballteam, or reruns of Seinfeld. The important thing is to es-tablish the bond early because it creates a presumptionof goodwill and trustworthiness in every subsequentencounter. It's much easier to build support for a newproject when the people you're trying to persuade are al-ready inclined in your , tbe other reliable generator of affection, bothcharms and disarms. Sometimes the praise doesn't evenhave to be merited. Researchers at the University ofNorth Carolina writing in the Journal of Experimental So-cial Psychology found that men felt the greatest regard foran individual who flattered them unstintingly even if thecomments were untrue.

8 And in their book InterpersonalAttraction (Addison-Wesley, 1978), Ellen Berscheid andElaine Hatfieid Walster presented experimental datashowing that positive remarks about another person'straits, attitude, or performance reliably generates liking inretum, as well as willing compliance with the wishes ofthe person offering the with cultivating a fruitful relationship, adroitmanagers can also use praise to repair one that's damagedor unproductive. Imagine you're the manager of a good-sized unit within your organization. Your work frequentlybrings you into contact with another manager-call himDan - whom you have come to dislike. No matter bowmuch you do for him, it's not enough.

9 Worse, he neverseems to believe that you're doing the best you can forhim. Resenting his attitude and his obvious lack of trustin your abilities and in your good faith, you don't spendas much time with him as you know you should; in con-sequence, the performance of both his unit and yours research on praise points toward a strategy for fix-ing the relationship. It may be hard to find, but there hasto be something about Dan you can sincerely admire,whether it's his concern for the people in his department,his devotion to his family, or simply his work ethic. Inyour next encounter with him, make an appreciativecomment about that trait. Make it clear that in this case74 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEWH arnessing the Science of Persuasionat least, you value what tie values.

10 I predict that Dan willrelax his relentless negativity and give you an opening toconvince him of your competence and good PRINCIPLE OFReciprocity:People repay in APPLICATION:Give what you want to is likely to have a wanning and softening effect onDan because, ornery as he is, he is still human and subjectto the universal human tendency to treat people the waythey treat him. If you have ever caught yourself smiling ata coworker just because he or she smiled first, you knowhow this principle rely on reciprocity to help them raise years, for instance, the Disabled American Veteransorganization, using only a well-crafted fund-raising letter,garnered a very respectable 18% rate of response to its ap-peals.