Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade

Author: Robert Cialdini

Robert Cialdini is the expert when it comes to the psychology of influence. He has spent his entire career researching and understanding the many different ways in which we wield influence over one another and his book “Influence” has sold millions of copies all over the world and worked its way into Fortune Magazine's list of “75 Smartest Business Books”. So pretty much all of the business world has been waiting with bated breath for what he has to share in this field after almost 3 decades since his first book. I too lost no time in picking this up and devoured it from cover to cover.

Whenever I read a book I spend a few minutes looking at the title and trying to imagine the thought process behind how the author came up with it and what he/she was trying to convey with the same. With this one, there is no question that Prof. Cialdini has nailed the title and potentially introduced a new word into our vocabulary. “Pre-suasion” conveys the importance of setting the stage, before you attempt to persuade someone on your thought, idea or product. Before you make your pitch to someone else, it is important that they are in the right frame of mind to receive it. Prof. Cialdini explains how our mind works in associating things together and exploits that association to get the listener in a more accepting frame of mind. 

He has plenty of examples that make the book easy to consume and I found it to be a pleasant read. I wouldn’t say there was something revolutionary or earth-shattering, so walk, don’t run to your nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of this.