Robert CialdiniFounder Cialdini Institute & NYT Bestselling Author

The Mind Trick That Makes People Agree Before You Speak #shorts

16 Oct 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:11

In this YouTube short, Robert Cialdini recounts a palm‑reader anecdote that illustrates a simple trick that makes people say they are right almost always. He connects that trick to his classic work Influence and contrasts it with the newer concept he calls “pre‑suasion.” Cialdini explains that pre‑suasion is the practice of directing a person’s attention and mindset in the moments immediately before they receive a message, thereby dramatically increasing the persuasive impact. The short emphasizes that what you say right before delivering your core message can prime the audience to be more receptive, distinguishing this approach from traditional persuasion that focuses on the content itself.

Chapters

I used to be a palm reader, and I learned the trick that they use to make people say they're right almost always. So what was the trick? In the '80s, Cialdini wrote an attention-getting classic, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, intended to arm consumers against manipulative marketers. But those who made the book famous were the persuaders themselves, who make a living beckoning us every step we take. Those ads, those signs, that's old-school persuasion, directing people's minds to the content.
In recent years, however, Cialdini has made a new discovery about how to spin friends and influence people.
What I'm talking about is pre-suasion, directing their minds to the moment before they experience the content.
Yes, pre-suasion, title of his new book.
Pre-suasion is the practice of getting people empathetic to your message before they experience it.
Before they even hear it, you mean?
It is what you say immediately before you deliver your message that leverages your success tremendously.
Or if you are the messagee, it plays you like a puppet.