Book Review of 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Cialdini, et al.
Reviewed by Scott Barnett

Let’s try an experiment. I'll try two approaches to persuade you to buy the book, Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive.

Persuasion Approach A: "Envision all that you could gain, if you could become more persuasive. Through this book, you’ll learn best practices for persuading others backed by recent scientific research in Social Psychology. The book shares case studies of successful persuasion attempts including those used by Volkswagen to successfully introduce The Beatle and by Progressive Insurance to grow at 17% per year."

Persuasion Approach B: "If you don’t read this book, you will lose the opportunity learn techniques scientifically-proven to persuade people by accessing “shortcuts” embedded in the human psyche. As a consumer, these techniques are being employed on you every day by those who are trained in their use. Many of those employing them have your best interests at heart. Some don’t. And unless you build awareness of these techniques, you are likely to fall victim to them without even realizing it. Also, you’ll learn how to become more persuasive, by learning how to avoid common mistakes and studying errors made by organizations ranging from Coca Cola, whose efforts at persuading consumers floundered during the launch of New Coke, to government organizations whose PR attempts to reduce the theft of public property actually resulted in the increase of such thefts."

Both of the above approaches include true statements. But one should be more persuasive. Which one? If you answered "Approach B", but are unsure why, buy and read this book (hint: see p. 144. It has to do with the scientifically-proven preference of humans for averting loss – in this case the loss of autonomy and opportunity.)

In my professional life as a marketer who must ethically persuade prospects to purchase Citrix Online's products, the lessons of Yes! have already proven helpful. I’ve used them in creating more effective messages for upcoming email tests and crafting more persuasive messages for internal employees. And in my personal life, the use of the labeling technique (see p. 69) has been extremely effective in convincing my skeptical 3-year old to try to use the potty.

And the lessons inside could also prove relevant you in your endeavors, whether you are introducing new products (don’t make the mistake Coke made), managing PR (admitting mistakes can be a key strategy for increasing shareholder value), training people (learning by studying mistakes is more effective than simply learning best practices), or expanding overseas (85% of Asian customers are likely to hang up on voicemail), there is something for you.

Persuaded?
Purchase this book at a significant discount off the $25 cover price. A portion of book sales will be donated to an online book club for Citrix Online employees.