“One of the most potent of the weapons of influence around us is the rule for reciprocation. The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” – Robert B. Cialdini
Reciprocity is a powerful influencing tool.
When you give, others feel obliged to give back in some way.
Here is an interesting experiment.
This is a series of studies conducted in restaurants.
The study looked at how a ‘gift’ by the waiter influenced the ‘tips’ they received.
Simply giving a free mint with the bill increased the tips by 3%.
When two free mints were given, the tips quadrupled!
And here is something even more interesting.
When the waiter gave one mint and starts to walk away from the table, pauses and turn back and says something like ‘for you nice people here is an extra mint’ a 23% increase tips was achieved.
The lesson:
It is not only what you give but also how you give makes a difference to how you influence others.
- Be the first to give
- Personalise the gift
- Make the giving unexpected
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