Robert Cialdini describes how a man asking for donations while bringing his young daughter made him give more money, inspiring his book Pre-Suasion. The core idea: direct people's attention and priorities before you ask for something, not after.
And let me give you one last question that is often asked of me when I talk about pre suasion. So, Professor Cialdini, how did you decide to write this book? Because after all, your whole career, your entire reputation was about what to put into your message. You've been telling us all these years about what to structure into that communication and suddenly you tell us about a different route. What happened? How did that occur? And I'll tell you. One day there was a knock at my door. I answered it to find a man who was asking me to contribute to a charitable cause. It was to fund after school education programs for children. The end of school, their parents are still at work. Instead of just going home and watching TV or going to some daycare, they go to a structured education program that's provided right there at the school. In your district, in your school district, would you give money for that? Well, this man didn't show me any credentials to indicate that he was part of such a program. And I hadn't heard about it from any news reports or any of the information about what my school district was planning. But I gave that man more money than I normally give to people who come to my door with those sort of credentials and with all of the background of the cancer society or whatever, a legitimate charity. I gave him that money and I felt good about giving him more money without any evidence that he was legitimate. And I remember closing the door and leaning against the wall and saying to myself, what just happened there? I claim that to optimize your influence you need to use one of six principles, at least one. He didn't give me any. He didn't show me his authority. He didn't show me any social proof that all my neighbors were doing this. He didn't give me any reason that there was a limited time and I had to do it soon otherwise the opportunity would go. He did none of that, but I gave him more money than I normally do. And I realized it's what he did before he opened his mouth that made me give him that money. He brought his seven year old daughter with him and he brought children to the top of my consciousness. Children's issues, children's challenges. And he made me, he made me think of the importance of children's programs. He elevated the importance of children's. He showed me that side of myself that cares about children before he began his presentation about a program for children. And I thought, excuse me, I thought to myself, oh, there's a book here. That's why pre suasion began.
