Pre-Suasion

Robert Cialdini, author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Influence, achieved renown as an early mover in the field of using an understanding of psychology to gain influence. Cialdini’s books, with Influence foremost, have sold more than three million copies. Here, he returns with a novel idea: What happens before you attempt to influence people has profound effects on whether you will succeed in influencing them or not.

Pre-suasion identifies what savvy communicators do before delivering a message to get it accepted.Robert Cialdini

He calls this crucial moment “pre-suasion,” and it falls before you make a request, ask a favor, present an argument, convince a client, bargain over price, seek a raise or propose marriage. Despite its unfortunate, jargony title, Cialdini’s book doesn’t contain the New Age rambling of a psychobabble guru. Instead, Cialdini – regents’ professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University and president and CEO of Influence at Work, a training consultancy – provides considerable strategic insight into human interaction. He shows you how to apply that insight to get what you want. Even though he’s a prolix writer with little respect for a short sentence and a great affection for the first-person singular, his content is useful and noteworthy.