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An insight into Influencing
How are we influenced?
Dr. Robert Cialdini’s - Six Principles of Influence
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Six Principles of Influence
• Seminal work of Dr. Robert Cialdini
• Book ‘Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion’
• Explains the six psychological principles that drive our
powerful impulse to comply to the pressures of others
• It also explains how we can avoid being manipulated
or unconsciously manipulating others
“The materials in Cialdini's Influence is a proverbial
gold mine”
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
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1 Reciprocation
• One person is
required to repay
in kind what
another person
has provided
• “One good turn
deserves
another”
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2 Consistency
• Most people have a desire to
look and be consistent with
their words, beliefs, attitudes
and deeds because:
• Good personal consistency is
highly valued by society
• Consistent behaviour
provides beneficial approach
to daily life
• “Doing what you said you
would do”
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3 Social Proof
• People often decide
what to do or
believe in a certain
situation by looking
at what other people
are doing and
believing
• “it’s the way things
are done around
here”
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4 Liking
• People prefer to say
‘YES’ to those they
know and like
• “I like you so….why
not!”
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5 Authority
• People have a
deep-seated
obedience and
compliance
towards requests
from authority
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6 Scarcity
• According to the
scarcity principle,
people assign more
value to
opportunities when
they are less
available
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Networking
Have a purpose
Introduce yourself clearly
Use a memory stack to prime conversation
Learn about people by asking questions
Have your 30 elevator speech ready
Listen actively
Use Cialdini’s principle of reciprocity
Try not to stay in the same place too long
Be prepared to follow up
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Elevator speeches
Pain – customer discomfort
Premise – how you might help
People – Britain's got talent
Proof – where you've succeeded
Purpose – what should happen next
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Competing
• Competing is assertive and uncooperative
• An individual pursues their own concerns at
the other person’s expense
• This is a power-oriented mode, in which one
uses whatever power seems appropriate to
win one’s own position—one’s ability to
argue, one’s rank, economic sanctions
• Competing might mean “standing up for
your rights,” defending a position which you
believe is correct, or simply trying to win
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Accommodating
• Accommodating is unassertive and
cooperative - the opposite of competing
• When accommodating, an individual
neglects their own concerns to satisfy the
concerns of the other person
• There is an element of self-sacrifice
• Accommodating might take the form of
selfless generosity or charity, obeying
another person’s order when one would
prefer not to, or yielding to another’s point
of view
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Avoiding
• Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative
• The Individual does not immediately pursue
their own concerns or those of the other
person
• They do not address the conflict
• Avoiding might take the form of
diplomatically sidestepping an issue,
postponing an issue until a better time, or
simply withdrawing from a threatening
situation
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Collaborating
• Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative –
the opposite of avoiding
• Collaborating involves an attempt to work with the
other person to find some solution which fully
satisfies the concerns of both persons
• It means digging into an issue to identify the
underlying concerns of the two individuals and to find
an alternative which meets both sets of concerns
• Collaborating between two persons might take the
form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each
other’s insights, concluding to resolve some condition
which would otherwise have them competing for
resources, or confronting and trying to find a creative
solution to an interpersonal problem
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Compromising
• Compromising is intermediate in both
assertiveness and cooperativeness
• The objective is to find some expedient, mutually
acceptable solution which partially satisfies both
parties
• It falls on a middle ground between competing and
accommodating
• Compromising gives up more than competing but
less than accommodating
• Likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than
avoiding, but does not explore it in as much depth
as collaborating
• Compromising might mean splitting the difference,
exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-
ground position
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Reflective review
In groups discuss and identify stories from the news
that demonstrate one or more of the 5 levels of
conflict
• Competing is assertive and uncooperative
• Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative
• Compromising is intermediate in both assertiveness
and cooperativeness
• Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative
• Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative
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Reasons for Competing (Aggression) in Conflict
• You want to engage in quick, decisive action.
• You have to deal with an emergency.
• You are responsible for enforcing unpopular rules or discipline.
• You see the issues as vital and know you are right.
• You need to protect yourself against people who take
advantage of collaborative behaviour.
(Source: Cloke, K. & Goldsmith, J.: Resolving Conflicts at Work)
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Reasons for collaborating or using teamwork to
resolve the conflict
• You believe it is possible to reach an integrative solution even though both
sides find it hard to compromise.
• Your objective is to learn.
• You believe it is preferable to merge the insights that come from different
perspectives.
• You need a long-range solution.
• You want to gain commitment and increase motivation and productivity by
using consensus decision-making.
• You want to empower one or both participants.
• You see it as a way to work through hard feelings and improve moral.
• You nee to help people learn to work closely together.
• You want to end the conflict rather than put paper over it.
• Your goals require a team effort.
• You need creative solutions.
• You’ve tried everything else without success.
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Reasons for Compromise
• You goals are moderately important but can be satisfied by less
than total agreement.
• Your opponents have equal power and you are strongly
committed to mutually exclusive goals.
• You need to achieve a temporary settlement of complex issues.
• You need a quick solution and the exact content doesn’t matter
as much as the speed with which it is reached.
• Your effort at competition or collaboration has failed, and you
need a backup.
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Reasons for Avoiding the conflict
• You regard the issue as trivial.
• You have no power over the issue or can’t change the results.
• You believe damage due to conflict outweighs the benefits.
• You need to cool down, reduce tensions, or regain composure.
• You need time to gather information and can’t make an
immediate decision.
• You can leave it to others who are in a position to resolve the
conflict more effectively.
• You regard the issue as tangential or symptomatic and prefer to
wait to address the real problem.
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Reasons for Accommodating or giving in to the
conflict
• You realise you were wrong or want to show you can be
reasonable.
• You recognise that the issue is more important to others and
want to establish good will.
• You are outmatched or losing and giving in will prevent
additional damage.
• You want harmony to be preserved or disruption avoided.
• You see an opportunity to help a subordinate learn from a
mistake.
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Objective: two ideas you can deploy
Influence with reciprocity
Influence with consistency
Influence with social Proof
Influence with liking
Influence with authority
Influence with scarcity
Actively network
Use memory stacking
Create an elevator speech
Be more assertive
Be more cooperative
