Book · 1984
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini
Robert Cialdini spent years studying the six levers that move people to say yes — scarcity, authority, social proof, and three more you've already been hit with today.
What does Reddit think of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion?
Three mentions, all on r/Entrepreneur, spanning 2023 to April 2025. Thin data for a book that's been on business reading lists since 1984 — but the three commenters who do bring it up are not hedging. The ↑192 comment calls it "a secret weapon" for sales; the ↑65 response describes the experience of reading it as a spell being broken, a sudden awareness of how often the reader has been on the receiving end of Cialdini's six principles. That framing — the book as a red pill about your own behavior, not just a sales manual — is what makes Influence durable. Reddit's Entrepreneur community treats it as foundational. Nobody argues about whether it's good. The contested question, never quite surfaced in these three mentions, is whether the updated 2021 edition adds a seventh principle worth the reread. The data doesn't settle it. What it does confirm: if you're in sales and you haven't read this, someone at your level already has.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Reciprocity and obligation
- · Social proof and conformity
- · Authority and credibility signals
- · Scarcity and urgency
- · The psychology of compliance
- · Self-awareness as a defense against manipulation
Common praise
- + The ↑65 r/Entrepreneur comment captures what the book actually does: it makes you notice how often you've already been influenced, which changes how you sell and how you buy.
- + Cialdini's six principles give salespeople a structured language for techniques they were already doing by instinct.
- + The book has stayed on r/Entrepreneur reading lists from 2023 through 2025 without needing to be defended — it just keeps appearing.
Common criticism
- − Three mentions in seven years is genuinely low for a book of this reputation, which suggests the Entrepreneur crowd references it more by reputation than by recent reading.
- − The updated 2021 edition's seventh principle (Unity) doesn't come up in any of the three Reddit mentions, leaving open whether the reread is worth it.
- − The book skews toward salespeople and negotiators; readers who aren't in an explicit persuasion role sometimes find the examples harder to apply.
Who it's for
Sales professionals who want a research-backed framework to go with their intuitions — the r/Entrepreneur crowd at ↑192 is explicit that this is a "secret weapon" in that context. If you've never read it, you're overdue. Founders and operators who deal with vendors, investors, or hiring will find the principles transfer. Readers who come to it purely for self-defense against manipulation get something real too, per the ↑65 commenter who described it as breaking a spell.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini. This one never gets old. If you’re in sales, this is like a secret weapon.
“Cialdini’s “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. Mostly because it opened my eyes to how I much I myself have been influenced by the unconscious principles and by others using those principles. Once I’ve learned about those it felt like a spell has fell of my eyes. It helped my to question …
“Read the book: Influence: the psychology of persuasion By Robert Cialdini Phd
Convinced? Pick up Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
What else does r/Entrepreneur read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The E-Myth Revisited
Michael E. Gerber
Michael Gerber's diagnosis: most small business owners don't own a business — they own a job, and they're the worst boss they've ever had.
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Eric Ries tells founders to ship a broken version on purpose, collect data, and repeat until the market stops ignoring them.
Never Split the Difference
Chris Voss
A former FBI hostage negotiator teaches the same tactical empathy he used to talk down kidnappers — applied to salary talks, vendor deals, and difficult bosses.
Zero to One
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel argues that copying what already works produces competition and thin margins, and that building a monopoly is the only business worth starting.
The 4-Hour Workweek
Timothy Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's 2007 case for outsourcing your life and working 4 hours a week has become a meme, but 18 Reddit mentions suggest the Pareto principle chapter still lands.
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
Phil Knight recounts selling Japanese running shoes out of a car trunk in 1962 and the 26-year scramble to turn that bet into Nike.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion — frequently asked
Is Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion still worth reading in 2026?+
Yes, according to r/Entrepreneur. The most recent tracked mention is April 2025 (↑27), and the highest-upvoted comment (↑192) frames it as timeless for anyone in sales. The core six principles haven't aged poorly — they describe consistent features of human behavior, not platform-specific tactics.
What does Reddit think of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion?+
Positive and unreserved across all 3 mentions on r/Entrepreneur. The ↑65 comment is the most substantive: the commenter describes reading it as a consciousness-shifting experience rather than a how-to manual.
Should I read Influence or just Cialdini's follow-up, Pre-Suasion?+
Depends on where you're starting. Influence introduces the six principles; Pre-Suasion is about priming people before the ask. Reddit's r/Entrepreneur data covers only Influence across these 3 mentions — Pre-Suasion doesn't appear in the tracked threads. Read Influence first; it's the foundation the follow-up assumes.
Is Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion just academic, or does it actually change how you work?+
The ↑65 r/Entrepreneur commenter answers this directly: it changed how they recognized influence attempts in their own life, not just how they pitch. The ↑192 commenter calls it a 'secret weapon' in sales. Both are reporting behavior change, not just theoretical interest — which is as close to a practical endorsement as Reddit data gets.