Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion

You might think that making ourselves more persuasive would require learning some complicated tactics and obscure details of human psychology. Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion shows that this is not the case, that sometimes the simplest of things will greatly improve our chances of getting what we want.

The authors tell of the importance of the bandwagon effect - if customers feel they are in competition with other customers for your product then they are more likely to buy. When we ask for something we should always give a reason - even if it's not a very good reason - the simple because ... is likely to be more persuasive Another lesson is that getting someone to take even the smallest step in a task will make them identify with it and thus encourage them to contribute further. The book also looks at how our emotional state affects our persuadability.

There have been many books on how to be more persuasive. This one is different, firstly because the advice given is so simple, but also because it is based on quantitative research. It didn't make it into the shortlist of the Royal Society Science Book Prize, but it isn't really the sort of popular science book which I would expect to do well in that competition. I would say that whatever you're trying to achieve, this is the sort of book which would be handy to have around to guide your dealings with others.