Top 15 Robert B. Cialdini Quotes

A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.

Embarrassment is a villain to be crushed.

The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.

we all fool ourselves from time to time in order to keep our thoughts and beliefs consistent with what we have already done or decided

people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.

There is a natural human tendency to dislike a person who brings us unpleasant information, even when that person did not cause the bad news. The simple association with it is enough to stimulate our dislike.

persons who go through a great deal of trouble or pain to attain something tend to value it more highly than persons who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort.

Often we don’t realize that our attitude toward something has been influenced by the number of times we have been exposed to it in the past.

The truly gifted negotiator, then, is one whose initial position is exaggerated enough to allow for a series of concessions that will yield a desirable final offer from the opponent, yet is not so outlandish as to be seen as illegitimate from the start.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. — ALBERT EINSTEIN

Since 95 percent of the people are imitators and only 5 percent initiators, people are persuaded more by the actions of others than by any proof we can offer.

The idea of potential loss plays a large role in human decision making. In fact, people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies? The result was that once again nearly all (93 percent) agreed, even though no real reason, no new information, was added to justify their compliance. Just as the “cheep-cheep” sound of turkey chicks triggered an automatic mothering response from maternal turkeys — even when it emanated from a stuffed polecat — so, too, did the word “because” trigger an automatic compliance response

It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end. — LEONARDO DA VINCI

There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking.