Influence - Science and Practice - The Comic

Dr Cialdini is the world's leading authority on the topic of influence. He is a professor at Arizona State. However, the first thing he admits is that he has been a patsy all his life. He got into influence research to figure out why he found himself saying yes when he didn't really want to. His research led to six principles of influence that can be used to sway our decisions. These are reciprocity (Give and take), consistency (one thing leads to another), liking (we respond best to people who like us), authority (Dr X is the world's leading...), social proof (Eat at Greasy Joe's - 10000 flies can't be wrong), and scarcity (Buy it now before it's too late).Cialdini's aim was (and is) to help people to see what is happening so that they can decide if the choice really suits them. His book Influence is one of my favourite books of any field. This is because I came across it when I was in charge of sales training for P&G UK and it was the first book on selling and influence that was grounded on anything other than some salesperson's experience. I have found his research to be extremely helpful.This comic is a terrific intro to the ideas he explores in his other work. It is by far the most accessible. In ascending order of intellectual challenge try this, then Yes! Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion  and then his opus Influence: Science and Practice . If you have sales people (or execs) who hate reading, this is the one. And if you are a parent and want to help inoculate your children against undue influence (either peers or the media), this would be a great introduction. If you are also familiar with the six principles you will be able to spot them together. Admittedly this would make an unusual game of "I spy" but it is increasingly necessary.

To be honest, I was searching for a Kindle version of the book Influence and this came up in the search. Without paying very much attention I bought it. It was only after I decided to start reading that I realized it is a graphic presentation of Cialdini's book by another author.At first this was a disappointment but then I decided to read it while I travel and it is a fun an engaging presentation of Cialdini's material. For the 'graphic novel set' - if there is such a group of people - you'll appreciate this version of Influence.I still ended up getting a hard copy of the original book because I want all of the information and not just a synopsis. However, I am enjoying the graphic version.The only downside I can see to is that I can't open it on my laptop. It is not supported for the version of Kindle that downloads to a laptop. As I use Kindle on my phone it makes reading this quite a challenge due to the very tiny words. But I hear that's good for improving eyesight so with that in mind I'll read away...

If you feel like me, "I don't get my academic knowledge from comics, - I'm smarter than that level!" - I think you may be surprised. I found this "comic" surprisingly engaging and informative.Some of these ideas, I already had thought-out myself, at some vague and unformed level! - and you may find the same.I think this "comic's" ideas are truthful, and its suggested "counter-measures" useful and sensible.

this is a very brief introduction to the topic, but the style is nice and the book is fun, it only briefly skims the surface of the subject, it's a bit like having a fun introductory lecture in the first week of term (for those who went to college) you get a list of references and if you really want to learn anything substantial you have to read those books, at least you will know whether or not you want to invest more time in the topic. It's not worth more than £6.50 I would say though, so don't pay £15 for it

This book was recommended to me by someone who should know so I am sure the content is good. The problem is that the comic book style speech bubbles are too small on the Kindle, and there is no option to zoom in, so reading is difficult-to impossible. No stars for the kindle version. 2 stars because it's probably a good book if only I could read it.

The format made me more willing to reach for it. What an amazing idea to put a self help/psychology book in a comic book format! I think that in our times with vast amount information available more and more books should change their format to something similar.

Although the cover photo shown is colour, the entire 'comic' is in glorious black and white. I found it hard to read and uninspiring (Dr Cialdini takes the role of a narrator in an 'influence adventure').If you're interested in this topic, buy his more traditional book that actually contains many entertaining cartoons.

This copy does not work well on my kindle.Images are jumbled and the format does not convert well.THE ABOVE ARE NOT COMMENTS ON THE BOOK SUBJECT.This, i am sure is as good as any Cialdini work but could not be read.