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Summary: Take advantage of the science of pychology
Review: This book is a readable presentation of a huge body of really interesting, crazy psychology experiements and their underlying theory. It tells you where science confirms conventional wisdom from mom or the used car dealer or the sneaky supermarket. You can use this stuff to your own advantage and you can be more aware as you are manipulated. It's very useful for the interested consumer, but very practical for anyone in retailing, marketing, pricing, product design or sales.
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Summary: Scientific and Practical indeed
Review: This is a great book full of interesting examples that will stay with you even if you are just picking it up for a casual read.What really sealed my 5 stars is that the book has for years been required reading for some university courses on social psychology. Because of that you know that despite the very fun read, what you are getting is not just another self-improvement flavour of the month.
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Summary: Good Consumer's Guide
Review: Having learned that marketing classes like to use this book, I tried it out. The book is a quick, pleasant read. It explains very well certain subconcious consistencies of human behaviour and the methods of exploitating them. Very insightful, yet logical stuff. I also like the fact that Cialdini's unassuming writing tone can make readers like me feel at ease. My only selfish gripe is that this is not a marketing aid but a consumer's warning guide. Since I am trying to get into the marketing profession, books like this make my life harder :)
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Summary: Very interesting
Review: A very interesting read. Great stories and examples to drive home the main points. Useful for consumer behavior classes, or any psych class in general. See if the library has it first... it is short.
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Summary: outstanding
Review: This book is an outstanding piece of work. With comptence, clarity and humour Cialdini opens the window not only on powerful trading tactics; he exposes some of the key mechanisms and forces that we carry over in our brains as a result of our evolutionary history and that drive our daily decision making in a wide variety of settings. I strongly recommend that in addition to Cialdini's book the reader buys Daniel Wegner's "The illuson of concious will".
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is the book to read if you are ever planning to purchase anything! Cialdini writes a superb treatise on how someone is able to get you to buy something when you originally did not want the merchandise. He shows the reader the art of persuation and the techniques that are employed. I was personally stunned when I read about some of the techniques that were used on me by a recent young lady selling me a variety of famous cookies. The book is written in an easy to understand language that never bores or loses the reader with stuffiness. I was originally assigned this book as a college text. I have kept it in my personal library and have recommended it to a wide variety of people. If you ever want to understand the salesman's mind, then this is the book for you.
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Summary: The book on influence
Review: Cialdini is an expert in the field of influence. The book is a comprehensive study on the psychology of influence. It is a indispensible tool for professionals involved in sales and marketing and negotiations, but it has practical applications for everyday social intereactions as well. Cialdini explains techniques (aka weapons of infleunce) that can be used to gain compliance from others. These techniques are drawn from real-life situations. While he constantly cites academic sources and laboratory experiments, the book remains accessible to the casual, non-academic reader. Illustrations, cartoons, and "reader's reports" are sprinkled throughout which helps the book stay firmly grounded in practicality. The study questions at the end of the chapter help to pull each chapter's ideas together. To critics of the book many of the ideas presented are seen as common sense, but I really think that everyone can benefit from reading this book.
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Summary: Influence Cialdini
Review: I read this book some 9-10 yrs ago & have probably given away 20 copies. I am buying this one to replace a give a way! I always tell people about a good book I have read. I many times pass a good book on to a friend. "Influence" is the only book I have read & then bought for people.
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Summary: A UNIQUE BENEFIT FOR MY COMPANY AND OUR CLIENTS
Review: I have been privileged to hear Dr. Cialdini speak and have heard from many others as well, that Cialdini is scrupulous about his science AND the ethical use of these powerful principles. Of course, like any good tool, the science can be used or mis-used. Often I find the interpretation of how to use these principles is in the eye of the beholder.
After seeing Dr. Cialdini give a keynote address at my company, we were all given a copy of his book. I can tell you that knowing these principles and using them ethically, as Dr. Cialdini has emphasized, has been an extraordinary help to me, my company and, yes,our clients as well. Next time he speaks for our company, we're all invited to bring our clients.
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Summary: Best of the Bunch on Persuasion & Influence
Review: For my school work, I've had to do a TON of reading on persuasion and influence. Cialdini is THE expert, so I knew I'd have to read his work. What a joy to find that he writes in a lively, personable style -- I could scarcely wait to get to the next chapter! The book has thorough cites and is based on hard-core academic research, but it's written in a flowing, fun style that is normally reserved for those trashy pop-psychology books. As for the reviewer who thinks Cialdini is on the side of the manipulators -- he must not have read very far. In each chapter, Cialdini covers how you can mitigate or block the effects of these persuasive triggers. An ethical, easy-to-read academic? WOW!
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