I just finished up reading The Psychology of Influence. I found it to be a pretty interesting read. The author lists out the biggest influential acts that he (and other researchers) have found. Here's the cliff's notes version of the identified influential behaviors and an example of each.
Reciprocation
Give a little something, and we will be inclined to give back. Simple enough, no? Our BrightMix accountant gave a perfect example of this the other day. He said he gets his best clients from going to social events and giving out free accounting advice. When his audience realizes he knows his proverbial shiznit, they end up hiring him to do their finance work. On the other hand, what if he refused to give out any advise without charging money? I bet he wouldn't be doing so well.
Commitment and Consistency
This idea plays on the fact that once we people set ours minds on something, we tend to stick to it.
Example: researchers went door-to-door in residential California and asks homeowners to display a small "Drive Safely" in a window on their house. Weeks later, another group of researchers went to the same houses and asked the homeowners to display a large, poorly designed billboard in their front lawn. A shocking 83% agreed to the installation of the sign.
Why? These homeowners had complied with the commitment of displaying the small sign, and, in doing so, had altered their own self-images, becoming public servants who promoted safe driving. Thus, it became natural for them to comply with the subsequent installation of the large billboard.
Try this out: write down a goal that you want to accomplish and post it publicly and/or show it to your closest friends, such as "I will become a non-smoker." You will more naturally become consistent with your newly stated self-image. If you smoke again, you're being inconsistent and risk being a big time loser.
Social Proofing
This is a big one. Social proofing relies on the concept that we humans tend to do what other humans are already doing. We perceive what everyone else is doing to be the norm.
The big example cited: the case of a murder in New York's Bronx wherein a young lady was brutally assaulted on three separate occasions over the course of an hour in the middle of a residential area. The assaults were highly audible and numerous residence actually witnessed the attacks as they occurred, but no one attempted to intervene or call for help. Eerie, indeed.
The reasoning is that the witnesses took cues from other witnesses who were watching idly. The effect was contagious, and it appeared as though inaction was "the thing to do" amongst spectators. In the end, the young lady ended up dying.
We definitely take behavior cues from those around us; it's a huge influence.
Likeability and Similarity
We tend to be influenced more easily by people we like and/or with whom we can identify. Example: a number of previously elected presidents were elected because of their charm and good looks--not on their political standpoints. If you've ever dealt with anyone who is good in business, you'll undoubtedly find that you probably perceive them to be similar to you in some or many ways.
Even more so, look at your closest friends and try to determine which have the most influence on you. You'll probably find that your most influential friends also happen to be the most similar to you in their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. My like-minded business partner Dusty has influenced me quite a bit (and I suspect the reverse is true)--we managed to convince each other to quit our high-paying jobs and form a company! Hah!
Authority
Nothing too notable here. Someone who is in charge (or at least appears to be in charge) will have a great deal of intrinsic authority. Your boss at work no doubt influences you. The police man waiting to catch you in a speed trap influences you. When "the experts" say you shouldn't eat red meat, and then you don't eat read meat, you just got influenced.
Scarcity
I thought this point was pretty cool. The whole supply/demand of economics proves this behavior quite readily. People want what is rare.
Remember this deal regarding a grilled cheese? 'Nuff said.
Dude, but it's so obvious!
We become extremely blind to acts of persuasion/influence because it's so embedded in our culture and day-to-day life.
Still, I can't help but think that there isn't a lot of profound knowledge coming out of this book. I mean, I could probably come up with a lot of examples persuasion, but I surely wouldn't be able to categorize with this much granularity. If you hadn't read this article(or book) and were asked to list out all of the things that you felt influenced and/or persuaded people, what do you think you'd come up with?