The language of influence.
The techniques, effects and terms from Dr. Cialdini's research, each defined plainly and tied to the published study behind it. For the seven principles themselves, see The 7 Principles.
- Commitment and Consistency
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
Agreeing to a small request makes people more likely to agree to a larger, related one later.
Read the definition - Reciprocity
Door-in-the-Face Technique
A large request that is refused, followed by a smaller one, makes the smaller one more likely to be accepted.
Read the definition - Commitment and Consistency
Low-Ball Technique
Once people commit to a decision, they tend to stick with it even after its cost rises.
Read the definition - Reciprocity
That's-Not-All Technique
Adding something to an offer before the person has responded makes them more likely to accept it.
Read the definition - Perception
The Contrast Principle
How we judge something depends on what we experienced just before it.
Read the definition - Perception
Click, Whirr (Automatic Responses)
People often respond to a single trigger feature automatically, without weighing the full information.
Read the definition - Perception
Pre-Suasion
What a communicator does just before delivering a message shapes how it will be received.
Read the definition - Social Proof
Descriptive and Injunctive Norms
What others do and what others approve of both guide behaviour, sometimes in opposite directions.
Read the definition
Put the vocabulary to work.
Find out which of the seven principles you already use well, and which one is costing you.