In this talk Robert Cialdini explains how a communicator can increase compliance by shaping the target’s mindset before the actual request is made. He illustrates the principle with several field experiments conducted in France. In the first study, middle‑aged men were first asked for directions to either “Martin Street” (neutral) or “Valentine Street” (romantic). Later, an attractive young woman asked them to retrieve a stolen phone from four tough youths. While only 20 % complied after the neutral cue, 37 % complied after the romantic cue, showing that a subtle priming of romance made the risky request more attractive. A second set of experiments showed that physical attractiveness alone raises compliance, but pairing a request with a romance‑related context (e.g., a flower shop) doubles success rates compared with neutral contexts (e.g., a pastry shop). Participants rarely recognized the influence of these pre‑request cues, highlighting the unconscious nature of the effect. Cialdini stresses the ethical implications of using such unconscious influence, urging communicators to understand and responsibly apply these mechanisms.
Chapters
[NOISE] A communicator can get us to be agreeable to a message that we haven't yet heard by going to the moment before they deliver that message and putting us in a frame of mind that is aligned with the central element of that message. So let's begin with a study that was done in France. Researchers had a pretty young woman approach middle-aged men who were walking down a street and ask for help with directions. About 100 yards later, they were approached by another attractive young woman who had a much larger request. She said, "You see those 4 guys over there?" And she pointed to 4 tough-looking young men. "They've taken my cell phone and they won't give it back. Could you go get it for me?" Well, the majority of these guys said, "Are you crazy?" They didn't know this mademoiselle. They didn't know if that was really her phone. And if in any confrontation, they would be outnumbered 4 to 1. So the great majority of them, 80%, said no. In this particular sample of middle-aged men walking alone, only 20% said yes. 20% is still impressive. But we would know why. That was an attractive young woman. Physical attractiveness. Leads to yes when a communicator has that particular trait. But there was a second sample. 37% of them launched themselves into this confrontation. The first sample was asked for directions to Martin Street. The second sample to Valentine Street. [LAUGHTER] Why did that make a difference? Because being asked about directions to Valentine Street put men in mind of Valentine's Day. And when they were in an amorous state of mind, romance became more important to them than danger. What percentage of them do you think recognized They had been moved by that persuasive action. Notice that the big increase wasn't because of physical attractiveness. Something else was required to produce, in other words, a persuasive step. They had to be asked about something that was associated with romance in order to prioritize romance now. What percentage do you think recognized that? None. No one. That's what makes this such an unconscious process. We don't recognize its influence on us because it comes before the request. We're not focused on the moment before. We're focused here on the request. And so this flies under the radar. Makes it important for us to think about the ethics of this process. This time they had a very attractive young man who walked up to women who were passing various shops in the mall and stopped them, gave them a compliment, and asked for their phone number so he could call to arrange a date later. Another risky request. To give a phone number to a perfect stranger who simply approaches in a shopping mall? Risky. As people were passing various shops—a shoe store, a clothing boutique, a pastry shop—the young man had very little success. Only about 13.5% of the time did he actually get a phone number. But when the young women were passing another kind of shop, his success doubled almost. Any idea? Flower shop. Why? Because flowers are associated with romance. And when they were put in a romantic state of mind, romance became more important than risk. Think about this. We're able to change who people are in the moment after we focus their attention on a particular idea. You can make me a romantic by presenting information, drawing my attention to information about romance. In that moment, you will have changed who I am. I am now a romantic in a way that I wasn't before. One more thing about this study that I like. Afterward, the young women were asked, "Of all the shops that you passed, which were the products inside that you liked the most?" And their answer was, "The pastries." But the pastries didn't produce phone numbers. Flowers produced phone numbers. Why? Because romance is associated with flowers, not frosted doughnuts, right? [LAUGHTER] You see how the alignment of what is made top of consciousness, top of mind in the moment before the request, is crucial to the success of that request. The alignment has to be right. A communicator can change what I'm paying attention to and in the process change who I am in that moment. If you are that communicator, I'll be at your disposal in that moment. Therefore, we would both benefit from knowing more about this process. And I hope that the information you've heard today begins to help provide that knowledge in this regard.
