The Persuasion Trick That Took Sales From 15% to 55%

Robert Cialdini, the research psychologist behind Influence, breaks down the seven principles of persuasion he uncovered while secretly training in sales programs. He shows how tiny shifts in wording and timing — a pre-suasion question, a meaningful gift given first, a small volunteered commitment, a shared "we" — multiply the rate at which people say yes. Lewis credits Influence with turning his broke, couch-surfing years into a business that took off within months. The conversation also gets personal, as Cialdini admits he had to teach himself to say praise out loud after growing up in a home that withheld it.