Product Description

Most of us are only too aware that, whatever roles we have in today's fast-moving world, much of our success lies in getting others to say 'Yes' to our requests. What many people might not be aware of, though, is the vast amount of research that has been conducted on the influence process. What factors cause one person to say 'Yes' to the request of another? Yes! is full of practical tips based on recent academic research that shows how the psychology of persuasion can provide valuable insights for anyone interested in improving their ability to persuade others - whether in the workplace, at home or even on the internet. It combines the counter-intuition of Freakonomics with the popularising of Does Anything Eats Wasps? For each mini-chapter contains a mystery which is solved in a way that provides food for thought for anyone looking to be more persuasive, and for anyone interested in how the world works.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6087 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 250 pages

Review
`If a CEO or head of state was limited to a single advisor my nomination would be Bob Cialdini' --Richard H. Thaler, co-author of Nudge

Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
"The ideas in this book changed my way of looking at the world. This thinking is the real deal. Want to be in on the next big idea? Don't miss out."

Octavius Black, Management Today
"You should read this book. You should read it because you'll enjoy it; because it's perfectly pitched for smart businesspeople; because it's easy to dip into while waiting for a colleague or a plane; and because if you don't someone else is going to get one over on you."

Customer Reviews

Too much of a good thing
'50 secrets from the science of persuasion'... Well, I'd never heard of `the science of persuasion' before and this is actually a series of short case studies based on social psychology academic papers published over the last decade or so. Each case study is presented as a problem, the experiment and results are described and then a `scientifically proven' solution is suggested. It's an appealing way of covering a broad subject and most of the results are thought-provoking and maybe genuinely useful. The only problem is that these snippets are not structured or ordered in any way so unfortunately fact fatigue sets in after about 30, and by the time you struggle to 50 the science of persuasion began to seem a rather disorganised discipline. An admirable book, but you might have thought `persuasion scientists' would have known a bit better how to determine exactly how much is a `good thing'.

A Treasure Trove of Insights
I have read The Tipping Point and Freakonomics and enjoyed them immensely. Yes! is a similar type of book - really enjoyable and based on what appears to be pretty solid evidence and research. It's practical too. As enjoyable as The Tipping Point and Freakonomics were I was left wondering how I could use the information. Short of impressing people at dinner parties with my new found knowledge of why drug dealers live with their mothers the personal applications of both books are few and far between. Not so with Yes! It is a treasure trove not only of the theory of persuasion but also how to put the theory into practice and become more persuasive (and let's be honest who doesn't want to be more persuasive?). In my humble opinion I think Yes! is highly readable, highly practical and highly recommended.

Throwing little light on secrets
Yes! is a no. This book is disappointly light on insight, secrets and content, with insufficient detail for real understanding and many examples of persuasion that will be obvious to readers. Cialdini is a good thinker and has made important contributions to the use of language and psychology in the process of influence; if you want insight into these, read 'Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion' instead, for both content and education.