Robert Cialdini is the king of influence . . . he is the author of pretty much the treatise on influence and how people get others to do things for them. He chose folks who have a lot of success at influence and then followed them around, noting what it was they actually did. His insights are right on and based upon clear principles. I teach quite a bit on Cialdini in my communication courses.

Influence is a natural part of being human. We all do it. Of course, some of us are just naturally better at it than others. And some are more ethical. My favorite Roman, Quintillian, once summed up the essence of rhetorical study (communication and influence, really) as “a good man speaking well” . . . that’s the kiey to influence studies to, learning to use influence to best advantage in an ethical way for the good of all.

Influence studies has become quite the big thing in business, politics, even seduction studies (yes, the guys learning how to date women study influence . . . as they should).

What about fiction? How is influence, persuasion, getting what one wants, portrayed in fiction? Drama? Film? Poetry? What of Cialidini’s principles is Iago using to manipulate Othello? How about Don Juan when he seduces all those women? Or, how do the Ghosts of Christmas get ol’ Scrooge to turn over a new leaf?

That’s our topic of the moment. What influence do you see in fiction? Is it realistic or fanciful? What’s going on in terms of the science of influence? Let’s see what we come up with.

For more on Cialdini’s work see Inside Influence Report and Influence at Work.