This article from the Harvard Business Review, discusses the viewpoint of social scientist Robert Cialdini in regards to his specialty: influence. Cialdini sat down with the editors of the magazine for an interview on what his studies have revealed about the power of persuasion. Primarily Cialdini reveals how persuasion can be used positively and negatively in the workplace. He also states that women tend to be looked upon as braggarts when they expound their own merits. What is also interesting is how persuasion techniques can be used across cultures and how they are represented so differently. The fact that persuasion is such a power weapon is truly intriguing.
The author’s purpose is to instruct and inform. The point is to learn how to use persuasion to benefit from it. The interview with Cialdini is to reveal tried and true methods to incorporate persuasion as a tool in the arsenal. Something can be learned from his information. The author asks questions of Cialdini searching for answers to educate the reader on persuasion. Cialdini, on the other hand, offers information he has gathered from his work to inform people on the facts of the situations they may be in and how to use the power of persuasion to their advantage. The article is certainly successful and very interesting. Sometimes a person needs to think oppositely of what has been inculcated in them and Cialdini brings up some very valid points about how to use the persuasion without people even realizing it is happening. The cultural perspective he discusses is also important. Especially in a world where we are experiencing the effects of globalization. People really should keep this article in mind because it applies not only to the business world, but to real life and interaction with others on many levels.
- The Users and Abusers of Influence. (July-August, 2013). Harvard Business Review.
