THE SIX WEAPONS OF INFLUENCE

 

The six weapons of influence are the six categories of group of actions and attitudes that people consciously or unconsciously put on to gain positive response or co-operations from others. According to the author of INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr. Robert Cialdinin, a renowned social psychologist, the people who are experts in the use of these weapons use them consciously or intentionally to achieve their goals; some of which are for good while some are for no good.

For the rest of human population who happen to be those who are often and easily influenced by the experts (or influence practitioners), these weapons are used glibly and by chance. And this is the reason why, according to cialdini, they achieve less results in the game of influence.

Cialdini spent years under cover researching into the secrets used by advertising agencies, charity organizations, politicians etc., to find out what he afterwards categorized into the famous Six Weapons of Influence in his Bestseller, INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion.

What are the Six Weapons of Influence? To get a fuller grasp of these weapons of influence, you need to read the book itself. However, here are they in capsule forms.  Please, read to the end to gain fuller and better insight:

1.      Reciprocation: giving gifts and using gifts to secure favour is as old as the history of man. For the influence practitioners, it’s not just about giving just tangible gifts but also about giving time, energy and making sacrifices to secure obligations. Charities give gifts to secure donations, certain firms give extra services to secure patronage.

2.      Commitment & Consistency: by the time an influence practitioner gets you to say “YES” to a very small and “harmless” request, they have succeeded in putting a foot into one’s door. They know that commitment, no matter how small, that is made will be followed by consistency which is a chain building up to doing their bidding or complying with their ultimate request.

3.      Social Proof: why do people do what they do? Not many people will agree that most of their buying decisions, for example, are influenced by the fact that someone of their own kind buy or own such things. The principle of social proof simply says that people are most likely to do what their peers, people of similar social status, colleagues, same group members do.

4.      Liking: most people like people who are similar to them or like/love what they like/love. People, for example, who are fans of the same sport club seem to like and flow with each other. This is why a trained sales man (influence practitioner) would ask to know where you are from, what school you attend, where you worship, what your favourite this and that is. Mention any and that also becomes his or her favorite. Mention where you came from and one of his friend or relatives or himself also came from there or knows the place or have some form of connection with such place.

5.      Authority: titles or a symbol of titles that connote authority sparks some form of respect and consequently, influence. For example, people may discuss with you on an equal-bases. But the moment they hear or get to know you are some expert, they mellow in expressing their own original thoughts or opinion in your presence.

6.      Scarcity: people value things more if that thing is scarce or if they are on the verge of loosing it. Again, people value things more if those things are expensive and most often equate “Expensive” with “Quality.” Influence practitioners use the rule of scarcity to make more sales. This is why deadlines are set and shifted. When deadlines are set on national matters, always know that it will be shifted. It is a major way of making people see time as scarce commodity for that moment so as to kick into action without postponing it. The goal of setting many a deadline is to get multitude into action within a set time frame.

Sometimes two or more of these weapons need to be used in combination to achieve its lethal powers. When experts use them in their right sequences or combination and commission their force against people the people are rendered powerless by them, neither realizing what hit them nor knowing how to resist their influence on them.