Yes!

"Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion"

By
Noah J. Goldstein PhD, Steve J. Martin and Robert B. Cialdini PhD

Seldon Gill review 4.5 stars

Have you found it hard to convince your other half take you out to dinner rather than watching the football? Would you like to make your work colleagues agree with you more often? And would you want to know the secret of getting your kids to do their homework or simply help out willingly? If like me, you answered a resounding YES! to all these questions then this book is for you. When you really think about it as marketers in professional services it's all about getting to "yes"!

This book shows you how to unlock a simple 'yes' to your requests from your customers, co-workers or others - it's all in the subtle way you communicate your message. Furthermore, it provides valuable insights into how your power of persuasion can be dramatically improved in all areas of your life; business and personal. It is a virtual cook book of the most powerful techniques to use in the recipe of persuasion and influence.

I found it amusing, informative and surprisingly very useful. It really makes you stop and think about what you say and the way you present things. This is very important in professional services where sometimes winning or losing a client comes down to the smallest of things, such as how memorable you are. 'Yes!' brings all the important, often small things to the surface and shows you how to make them count in the art of persuasion. The solutions and techniques offered are based on sound scientific research not just what the author recommends based on their individual experience.

The content of this book is based around a series of short case studies from social psychology academic papers published over the last decade or so. Each case study is presented as a mystery, followed by the experiment and results, and then a `scientifically proven' solution is suggested. The solution is presented in a way that provides food for thought for anyone looking to be more persuasive. We are shown the many ways that we can influence others, often with very subtle changes of approach. This leads me to my only problem with the book, fact fatique! After ploughing through 35 case studies I found it a little bit tedious to make it to case study 50. The examples tend to tail off! That being said, the research is presented in an everyday language which is easy to understand as well as put into practice.

'Yes!' 'Yes!' manages to combine some very practical and effective lessons for business with some real insights into how people behave. After reading this book you will reap the rewards of knowing that small changes in your approach can lead to greater success in life.

A definite must read 4/5 star Seldon Gill rating.

About Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin and Robert Cialdini

Professor Robert B. Cialdini is Regents Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University; his work has been published in journals worldwide. Steve Martin is Co-Director of Influence At Work (UK) and works with Professor Cialdini to provide consultancy on influence. Noah Goldstein is a doctoral student at Arizona State University.