Before commenting on this book I need to disclose one very important piece of information. I've been a big fan of Dr. Cialdini for fifteen years. And I'm happy to say that I'm met him on several occasions. Now that I've disclosed this to you, I must tell you that this book is such a wealth of information that you can literally take one page at a time and put it's power to use over and over again.

Based on the most current scientific research and studies, YES! is a cookbook of the most effective, useful and powerful techniques of persuasion and influence ever laid out for the public to see.

I was surprised when I read Persuasion Secret #15. It's right out of STAR WARS. But STAR WARS is a movie. This technique is real! Clinical studies sited show absolutely the science behind the psychological principal Luke Skywalker used to turn his father away from the Dark Side.

Its so simple you too can put it to work immediately after reading the short three pages detailing it's precise method and use.

And maybe even more important, there are a tremendous amount of unethical people out in the world trying to influence you without your knowledge. Protect yourself from these unscrupulous people!

This is one book that has the power to enhance anything you seek to accomplish in your life.

I bought this book after reading Robert Cialdini’s bestseller, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, one of my all-time favorites. In that more comprehensive text, the author details many agents of influence that work upon us all in our everyday lives, often with most of us not even knowing it. Influence contains everything in Yes! and more, and I highly recommend reading the former first, considering the latter as a refresh later on.

Yes! highlights 50 techniques every person can use in order to persuade others. Systematically, each chapter starts with a question that deals with a specific component of persuasion, next a study is described that addresses the question and scientifically validates the answer(s), and finally a conclusion/strategy is developed based on the studies. Several examples are also given in each chapter as to how each strategy can be applied in real-life scenarios. Potential readers should be cautioned that the book is very business-oriented and frequently gives advice to managers and negotiators but Cialdini makes it very easy to visualize how the techniques may be executed by the layperson. In my opinion, the most insightful part of the book is not knowing what works but understanding why techniques work, and the psychology behind them.

Even though the book has 250 pages, it is a remarkably quick read.

"Just because yes is simple and obtainable, we shouldn't be fooled into believing that anyone can easily secure it from others"

"Yes!; 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive" by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini

The title says it all really; the book is filled with 50 ways (I'd rather say "examples") of persuasion. They are (for examples);

"What one word can you start using today to increase your persuasiveness by more than fifty percent?"

"Which item of stationery can dramatically increase people's responses to your requests?"

SPOILER ALERT!! (the answer to the two questions are; "because" and "Post-It notes")

...

I'm not going to list all 50 ways from the book; I'll go right to my Six Elements Review that the ideal business book is "easy to read, distinct, practical, credible, insightful, and provides great reading experience"

Ease of Understanding: 8/10; the small book is separated into 50 chapters and each chapter takes less than 5-10 minutes so, it is easy to understand. However, the drawback of Yes! is its lack of structure; 50 ways are loosely tied (if at all) together.

Distinction: 8/10; it is undoubtedly a great compilation of persuasion techniques. The highlight is the word "50'; it is difficult to provide readers with 50 ways "persuasively" but Cialdini, Goldstein, and Martin could do it.

Practicality: 4/10; as interesting as those fifty ways are, I can say that it is very difficult (if possible at all) to implement any of them appropriately. Each situation in the book or in your lives is unique. It is more possible to successfully persuade others and look back to the techniques in the book and match them than the other way around.

Credibility: 6/10; the gook point is that every way is backed with good and, sometimes, amazing example(s). The bad point is, it might not be enough to use one example (or a couple of them) to describe the ways and claim that they are "scientifically proven".

Insight: 5/10; I think 5 is fair because as you know that there are fifty ways! It is impossible to dig deep into every (any) way.

Reading Experience: 9/10; This is, by far, the most outstanding element of Yes!; this book is fun. Take this book with you along with another book and if you're bored with the other book, take some times off and read Yes!; it is refreshing. I would compare the book to Aesop Fable not that they are childish and fictional but they are;

1. Concise and precise

2. Every story teaches you a valuable lesson

3. You mention it in a hindsight when something already happened! ("Oh, this situation is like the story of "The Hare and The Tortoise"... "I persuaded my friend and it was like the way no.XX from Cialdini's book"!)

Overall: 6.7/10; I'd say "buy it"; it's fun and won't waste your time because you'll learn many things from the book and you'll find those examples and stories amazing. However, be careful when you try to do any of those ways; make sure you think of the other 49 ways first!

Viriya Taecharungroj

[...]

First I want to say that Yes! is not comparable to Robert Cialdini's long-standing masterpiece Influence: Science and Practice. This is because the two books are very different from each other in style and purpose. I recommend both, but not for the same reasons.

With that out of the way, I want to thank the authors of Yes! for making a book that is highly accessible (only a few pages per topic) and highly usable (topics can be used individually or together in any combination). Most books on persuasion specifically and marketing in general lack both of these qualities, making them difficult to read and almost impossible to apply. A breath of fresh air was needed and this book provides a full oxygen tank.

A good approach to take here is to read the whole book, front to back, at least a couple of times. The book is designed to let you browse through it, but a single idea presented in a single paragraph may not pop out at you right away, or may be skipped when you're window-shopping for ideas. After reading a couple (or more) times, they are easier to internalize. And as we all know, you have to internalize stuff, and apply it with your own style, before it really becomes useful.

Internalize this book and apply it. You'll get your money's worth.

I purchased this book mostly based on how useful Cialdini's book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) has been for me.

"Yes" is full of great tips for anyone, whether you're a marketer, business manager, or just everyday person looking to be more persuasive with those you deal with.

The book is set up in a way that is very enjoyable to read. By mixing humor and stories together, you get the information uncovered by recent psychological research without feeling like you're reading a boring text book.

I made many notes going through this for my own business (blogger, ebook writer) for how my materials could better reach and connect with my audience. But I would still find this incredibly interesting even just for everyday dealings with people. The tip on the one word that increases compliance (also found in influence) is something I remind myself daily to use with much success.

I'm also grateful I found out about a number of "mistakes" I was making in how I structured the materials I wrote. While I can't easily measure how much changing these things will help, every little bit of knowledge helps me feel more confident in what I do.

This book is full of interesting and useful ideas about persuasion. It draws on findings from a wide range of research/experiments on decision making.

There are, however, a couple of aspects of its presentation that I find frustrating. First, the authors are often very brief when describing the experiments from which important lessons are drawn. With social science experiments such as these, where there are various factors that are difficult to control, I find it impossible to judge the validity, applicability, or limitations of their findings without considering the sampling methods, conditions under which the experiments are conducted, etc. It is true that the authors do provide footnotes that show where one can look up the papers presented by the various researchers. Assuming that a casual reader has access to all the academic journals concerned, it is unrealistic for him/her to make the enormous efforts to go through all of the very large amounts of background materials. The alternative would be to take the authors' words for granted, which is hardly the attitude to take when one considers evidence-based findings.

My second frustrations has to do with the authors' presentation of the 50 ideas as distinct lessons, without any attempt at grouping (say, based on related concepts or relative importance, etc). As such, I find it difficult when I try to remember the ideas, or refer back afterwards without having to flip through 50 chapters.

As a marketing consultant and writer I read every persuasion book I can get my hands on. This is one of the most useful in the field that I've ever read.

I particularly appreciate the formatting. Each chapter begins with a scientific case study, followed by the relevant conclusions drawn from the study, then completed with ways the conclusions can be applied in a variety of circumstances. The effect on me was to spark tons of ideas for my clients.

The brief, yet concentrated chapters make for easy and engaging reading. I read the book the first time in one sitting, and not once did my attention wander. The formatting also means that you don't have to read the chapters sequentially -- you can open up to any chapter and get valuable, stand-alone content.

The most beneficial aspect of the book is the scientific research. Contrary to many other books in the field, you can feel comfortable with the empirical, rather than subjective, approach.

I've added this book to the core books on persuasion that I reference constantly.

Good book but more of a review of influence in my opinion. So I would say if you want something shorter read this.

Mir hat das Buch sehr viel Spaß gemacht. Es stellt Erkenntnisse des Sozialpsychologie auf eine sehr unterhaltsame Weise da indem es die Ergebnisse der betreffenden Forschung wiedergibt. Hierbei handelt es sich zumeist um Experimente, die in Alltagssituationen durchgeführt wurden und dem Leser vor Augen führen wie verwundbar er selbst vielleicht für solche Phänomene ist.

Dieses populärwissenschaftliche Buch ist in 50 Kapitel aufgeteilt, von denen manche aufeinander aufbauen aber jederzeit die Möglichkeit bieten es zur Seite zulegen und bei anderer Gelegenheit wieder aufzunehmen.

Die Situationen und Erkenntnisse, die im Buch beschrieben werden, lassen einen anschließend einige Dinge mit anderen Augen sehen und das ein oder andere kann man sogar im Alltag anwenden.

Fazit: Zwei Daumen hoch, ich kann jedem der Interesse an der Frage hat warum wir so handeln wie wir es tun dieses Buch empfehlen.

Wish I had more time to read it! There are great examples within.

Buen libro

This is a really good book, with practical examples... But sometimes the same concept is repeated more then twice.

Good book, useful