Throughout our lives, we make decisions from the simple things we buy to the car and house. Even down to the clothes we wear. As marketers, leader and an entrepreneur, have you ever wondered what were the factors that went into these decisions as for how we can utilize them to influence positive outcomes.

Dr. Robert Cialdini explains this in this powerful 1984 classic book, Influence. He carefully lays out 35 years of evidence-based research that it is not luck or magic, but has science behind it. He started this research because he wanted to find out why others influenced him so easily.

Before we dive in, the information contained in his book is extremely powerful and should be used very very responsibly. As leaders, we must be honest and maintain integrity in applying these influence hacks.

So let's dive into our psychological principles and discover the science behind our “Yes”.

Robert tells us that “All the weapons of influence discussed in this book work better under some conditions than under others. If we are to defend ourselves adequately against any such weapon, it is vital that we know its optimal operating conditions to recognize when we are most vulnerable to its influence.”

Allow me to leave you with these final thoughts

As we try to achieve our goals in life, a prerequisite to success is relationships and working with people and encourage them to be receptive to the positive message we bring. We should employe these 6 influence principles, of Reciprocity, Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority and finally Scarcity. To protect ourselves from the negative influences, me must be fully aware of the mental triggers and when we make our decisions, we musth examine these triggers to make sure we are not acting emotionally. We need to be aware and carefully consider the intentions of those trying to persuade and influence us.