How do we get convinced by others? Persuasion techniques and Cialdini’s 6 principles

Robert Cialdinione of the world’s leading experts on persuasive communicationhas established the so-called 6 Principles of Persuasion (reciprocity, commitment and coherence, social proof, authority, sympathy, scarcity). What are they for? Well, let’s start with an example: have you ever received an email from an e-commerce site you are registered with announcing 50% discounts for that day only? Up until that moment you had no intention of buying anything, but you are overcome by a sense of need and in the end you actually buy something. This is a perfect example of persuasion in actiona phenomenon that we experience daily, not only in advertisements, but also in political debates, in sales and even in conversations with our friends, who manage to make us leave the house for a party even if we don’t feel like it.

In short, the persuasion is the ability to induce a person to change their behavior or thoughts thanks to communication skills to achieve your goals: it is a very powerful tool, if placed in the hands of those who know how to use it. Understanding how the techniques of persuasion not only helps us defend ourselves from unwanted influences, but also to recognize when we may have been influenced without realizing it.

Cialdini’s 6 principles

Robert Cialdini is an American psychologist and today works as a marketing professor at Arizona State University. In his text The weapons of persuasionof 1984, laid the foundations of the study of persuasion and identified 6 key principles that explain how and why people can be influenced. These principles are found both in marketing and in our interpersonal relationships.

Reciprocity

This is the principle that people tend to reciprocate favors received. This mechanism is rooted in our sense of social obligation. Persuaders exploit this principle by offering something of value, knowing that the person will feel indebted and will be more likely to return the favor in the future. An example is when a salesperson offers us a free sample of a product, with the hope that we, the customer, will feel obligated to buy the full product.

Commitment and consistency

It is based on the tendency of people to want to be consistent with the actions and commitments they have made: if we make a choice, we will tend to behave consistently with it. Persuaders can exploit this principle by having the individual make small initial commitments, and then progressively increase and continue to make future commitments even larger than the initial ones. An example is the charity that initially asks for a small donation, and then later increases the amount.

Social Proof

It is based on the tendency of people to observe the behavior of others to determine their own, especially in situations of uncertainty. Persuaders use social proof, such as testimonials and reviews, to influence choices, playing on the desire for social conformity. For example, various e-commerce sites prominently display the number of customers who have purchased the product we are looking at, to encourage us to buy.

Authoritativeness (or Authority)

It is the principle by which we are inclined to follow the instructions of those we perceive as authoritative (titles, uniforms, expertise). Persuaders therefore use authority figures or experts to support their messages and increase their credibility. This is why, for example, in advertising, toothpaste is often recommended by a dentist: to increase consumer confidence in the product.

Sympathy

It is based on the fact that people are more likely to be influenced by those they like. Persuaders therefore work to create sympathy with the public. Thus, for example, salespeople in clothing stores tend to compliment customers, to increase the probability that they will buy something.

Shortage

It is based on the tendency to attribute greater value to what is perceived as scarce or limited: this creates in us a sense of urgency and desire. An example is a hotel booking site that shows us that there are only a few rooms left in the property we are looking at, creating urgency in us to book.

Why do we “fall” into persuasion?

There social psychology explains that each of us can be the target of persuasive messages because, as human and social beings, our behavior and our decisions are influenced by factors that we do not always consciously control and that act without us realizing it:

• Cognitive heuristics: we use heuristics, which are mental shortcuts that help us make decisions quickly, but which at the same time can be exploited by persuaders to direct our choices in a non-obvious way (a supermarket uses the “fractional” price of 9.99 euros instead of 10 to make a product seem cheaper)
• Emotional needs: persuasion often finds fertile ground in people’s emotional needs: affection, recognition and belonging (a salesperson who praises us for our purchasing choices is “exploiting” our need for recognition to facilitate our further purchases)
• Social conformity: the tendency to conform to group norms can be used to direct certain behaviors (one advertising campaign emphasizes that “everyone is switching to this new service” to encourage adoption among the undecided).