Persuasion: Liking

This is the 4th in a series of 6 posts from a book review of Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.

Liking: Benjamin Franklin once wrote: ‘He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Though this sounds counter-intuitive, it is not. Researchers (Jecker and Landy) conducted a study in which participants won money. At the conclusion of the experiment, the researcher approached one group of winners and asked if they would be willing to return some of the money they’d won from the researcher because he had used much of his own personal money to run the experiment. The rest of the group was not asked. In a follow-up survey, the group that was asked the favor rated the experimenter higher than the unasked members of the group. Bottom line message here: Ask people for help. Not only will you probably get a return for asking, but they’ll also like you more.

How about writing an endorsement for The Journey of the Accidental Leader on Amazon?