Harnessing the

Science of
Persuasion
by
Robert B. Cialdini

Presented by:
Ruqiya Rehmatullah
Persuasion:
•Factors that influence us to say YES in the free
choice atmosphere.
•Process aimed at changing a person`s or group
attitude towards some event, idea, object by
using written or spoken words.
•
Importance..
At the Professional Level-
• In the era of cross-functional teams, joint
ventures, and intercompany partnerships,
the attitude of “Because I’m the boss”
does not works.

• Helps managers to motivate subordinates.

The Principle of Liking: People
like those who like them
Uncover real
• Similarities – discover at
least one common area
of enjoyment.

• Offer genuine praise-

positive remarks about
another person generates
liking in return as well as
willing compliance.

A strategy for fixing the

relationship too…
The Principle of Reciprocity: Give
what you want to receive
• You smile back to anyone
who smiles at you
• Gift giving- accepting gift
from a supplier, Charities
sending well crafted
personalized invitation.
• First-mover advantage- a
new manager can elicit the
desired behavior he wants
from employees by
displaying it first i.e;
cooperation, sense of
trust.
 The Principle of Social Proof:
People follow the lead of similar others.
Use Peer Power whenever it’s available.

• Human being rely heavily on others for

cues on how to act, think and feel.

• Influence is often best exerted horizontally

rather than vertically. e.g: ask an
esteemed "old timer" to support your new
initiative if others resist.
 The Principle of Consistency:
People align with their clear commitments.
Make their commitments:
• Active- one’s that spoken
out loud or written down-
get it in writing
• Public-reinforce the
commitment by making
sure it gets a public airing.
• Voluntary- not coerced,
forced or imposed
(unwelcomed burden).
 The Principle of Authority:
People defer to experts.
Expose your expertise, don’t assume it’s self-evident.
.
• Make your expertise visible for making people to
listen to you.
• i.e; outside get-together helps, talk lightly about
your ground of expertise for a minute before
starting a meeting.
The Principle of Scarcity: People
want more of what they can have less of.
• Use Exclusive information to persuade rather
than generally available data

• Loss Language- potential losses figure

affects manager’s decision making then
potential gains (closing window of
opportunity).

• Information must be genuine or it might

backfire acc. to the rule of reciprocity.
 Putting it all together…
•Be Persuasive, not Manipulative

•These 6 principles should be implied in

combination to amplify its impact

•Rules of ethics applies to all the

principles..
Thank you 