As an avid student of persuasion and influence, I'd say this is one of the more readable and comprehensive books on how to communicate with and influence others. It is complete, concise and well written. Kevin Hogan helps you stop thinking "magic" when it comes to persuasion and shows you the who, what, when, where, why and HOW.

If you are in an applied sales profession (entrepreneur, sales, marketing, attorney, etc.), use this book and you will see results in your business. If you simply want to learn how to better persuade and influence in all areas of your life (got kids?!), this book also will show you the way. Have fun as you read and apply to improve your life and relationships.

Mollie Marti, J.D., Ph.D.
Author, Selling: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success

This book is a must read for anyone in sales - period

This is a very well written book. It is a great tool for anyone who makes a living by having to persuade and influence others. Kevin Hogan has a very simplified process with his "Paradigm of Persuasion" approach which is built on a win-win philosophy for both the seller and the customer.

I really like the detail and examples that the author has provided in this book. Dr. Hogan speaks to the "laws" of persuasion and various ethical persuasion techniques. He also describes in detail how non verbal communication and proxemics have a direct impact on the customer's buying decision criteria. This book also goes into great detail on building instant rapport with the customer and how to effectively communicate with the different personality styles.

This book is definitely one, that after you have read it, will become a reference book for years to come.

This book is where it all starts, fills in all the details others miss out and finishes all your curiosity about why and how to influence people.

The 9 laws of persuasion are real gems and can be easily and quickly be placed into any selling environment.

Reciprocity, Expectancy, Consistency the list is one in which you'll want to remember as you will rely on their information for many many years.

I can personally vouch that this book as well as other from Kevin Hogan has literally transformed my selling, my social interaction and career path.

I can not stress how much every person involved in persuading (every one) needs to own a copy of this master piece.

Gary May
Author: SELLING: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success
[...]

I started reading Kevin Hogan to improve my work life, but ironically my WHOLE life got better. That's because Dr. Hogan is unique in his approach. Though he never uses the hackneyed phrase "holistic", he does change the whole person with his approach. Because his methods work EVERYWHERE...and because they are not manipulative in the usual sense, they are true win-win solutions! This book will make your life better! Kevin Hogan teaches the real secret to a happier life. Its that simple.

I read a lot of sales/persuasion books. This is truely a good book by a Knowledgeable person. This is a combination of traditional sales info plus the book THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INFLUENCE, with a little NLP thrown in.

What does this book deliver? The most applicable information concerning persuasion per minute of your time invested. I've read 12 books on persuasion, psychology and sales since starting my company three years ago, and this one has the most concise, applicable information available. Kevin does an excellent job of boiling it down to what really counts.

What are the results on my business? I manage money, and approximately eight of ten people I sit down with become clients. Would you be happy with an 80 percent success rate? Further, I'm a finance and engineering professional, not a sales professional.

To be sure, many of the 12 books I read were excellent. However, The Psychology of Persuasion boiled it all down to the points that count so that I get better results from my sales, marketing and money managing efforts. The book is a great investment of time and money. Have fun with it!

I must tell you that it's one of the most amazing books that I've ever read. I will smile and say 'WoW' while reading this book. Though I haven't finished reading it completely, I'm sure that my life will get changed afterwards

This was one of the more facinating books that I had read at the time and it changed my opinion of a few things. The author has a great understanding of people and explains things in a very easy and effective way. As a former corporate trainer and now a life and executive coach I have utilized many of the techniques thought in this book, both personally and professionally.

I would recommend this book for anyone, it helps you understand people in a different and probably gives you a new perspective on many people. The book covers a little bit of NLP as well, which I found very interesting since I personally have read many books on that subject.

This book is a great combination book as well, when you read it you can start utilizing the information when reading other books. For professionals this book can help you increase sales and improve the quality of your marketing material as well.

Very interesting book. Gives some good information on how to persuade people to see your point of view and even agree to it. It goes over the 9 basic rules that a person thinks about before he makes his final decision on anything. And it also gives you different ways to persuade people and examples of how it is used.
This is the first persuasion book that I've purchased and reading it gave me some very good insight on not just persuasion but on life itself.
It also made me want to know more about persuasion and influence.

People that should pick up this book:
Anyone that wants to get more out of life.

This is an easy to read book, as any other book it uses many examples to understand the objectives. Something unique about this book is that it uses exercises; this is great for people who learn by repetition or practice.

Often I have a difficult time remembering various techniques that I read about in my pursuit of knowledge. This book gives such useful information, that I felt compelled to make index cards illustrating the concepts. I carry one index card with me each day as I attempt in incorporate that day's golden nugget into my life.

P.S. This is my first review and I can't find where you add a button. Sorry.

This book has so much valuable information to help you influence others to get more of the results you want. And it gives you this info in bite-sized chunks you can use and build on.

The book builds on the terrific work that Cialdini has done and reported in his books, which any student of influence will also buy and study. Hogan expands Cialdini's number of persuasion principles ("laws") from six to nine and fills the book with examples to teach you how to use them and scores of influence methods and techniques.

When we do choose to persuade someone, we want certain results. Anyone who consistently uses this book's simple model of outcome-based thinking will reap dollar benefits at least hundreds of times greater than the price of this book. And Hogan teaches you this in just ten pages.

Each chapter ends with a short summary in outline form. This helped me grasp the information the first time I read the book and has made it easy for me to quickly review the material when I've gone back to it.

I highly recommend that you buy and study this book, and then review the short chapter summaries from time to time.

"Most people operate in a stimulus/response mode. Something happens; they respond. Something else happens; they respond. This chapter will show you how to control your world instead of continually reacting to various stimuli. Outcome-Based Thinking will allow you to decide what you want and how to get it."

The book is based on the principles of knowing what you want and consistently doing what it takes to realize your desires. Even if you forget to apply any of the rules and methods of persuasion, the skill of Outcome-Based Thinking makes this book well worth owning.

Good information and well written. I'd also recommend Robert Cialdini's book, Influence, to compliment this book.


Bill Wiersma
Author: The Big AHA!

This is a book that you'll read over and over. You'll dog ear the pages and turn them yellow with highlighter. There is pure gold to be mined on every page.

What makes this book so valuable is the science behind persuasion that Mr. Hogan explains in easy to understand language. You walk away with a real understanding of how to persuade and why it works. In fact, I found the chapter on the impact of non-verbal communication to be worth the whole price of the book and even more. After I read this book, I was surprised it wasn't priced in the $80 range like many of the other persuasion books.

This book should be considered a primer for everyone who wants to seriously persuade. Get it, read it, use it, persuade, profit.

I read a lot of self-help books. I'm sort of on a never-ending quest to improve myself. I read this book at the same time I was reading Maslow's paper on human needs. The two dove-tail quite nicely.

For me, I'll put it this way. Each of us have about a dozen or so moments in our lives where we feel like me just made a huge stride forward; like some of life's biggest questions just got answered, and from that point, the world is never the same. It's a paradigm shift. We've all had them. This book was probably my most significant paradigm shift in my 34 years. It occurred to me that probably 90% of humanity goes through life asleep at the wheel, or dozing off. When you learn, and MASTER (that is key - mastery) the art of persuasion, you will then be able to master your own life, and thus speed up personal growth. It's a wake up call that, if heeded, will put you among the more enlightened people. Read it, then read it again, just to be sure.

Imagine how your life would improve if you could persuade more people to see it your way. And it can happen. The art, or skills, of persuading and influencing others is learned. We are naturally driven to use force - we are intent on bending others to our way of thinking. This often causes conflict and resentment. But you don't need force. The Psychology of Persuasion is packed with lessons, tips, tools and techniques on how to develop and apply skills of persuasion. Step by step, the book explains how and why. The results are overpowering. I recommend this book to all my clients, friends, and customers.
I am so impressed by this book that I bought the license to teach it's principles in my sales and leadership programs("[...]"). Get your own copy today and find out what it feels like to be a persuasion wizard.

I read Mr. Hogan's book on hypnosis. Since I liked the first book, it was not difficult for me to try reading this one. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book is a pure gem. One can learn about people personalities, the laws of behavior and many other psychology tricks. Learn when someone is trying ot negotiate with you vs. when you are being manipulated. It will help any person in any aspect of their life -- both personally and profesionally.

Awesome, Kevin really nails the art of communicating, persuassion really works.
We can't not communicate, the psychology of persuasion is the tool to use, to enhance your ability to persuade and how to defect negative persuaders.
You have a choice influence or be influenced, the great structure of the book allows you to specifically apply this stuff to your every day communication.
Elliott Wald (London UK) Psychology of Persuasion Licencee

This is simply essential reading in any walk of life. Not only to be used to influence and persuade ethically, but also to recognise just what is occuring around you.
It is eye-opening and I was constantly punctuating my reading with "Ah-ha!" moments not to mention the "Eureka!" moments.

If you are in business, this is essential.

Adam Eason, Psychology of Persuasion Licensee.

The Psychology of Persuasion is one of those books that is a MUST for all salespeople and business communicators. Mr. Hogan's ability to take researched based materials and apply them to practical daily business scenarios is a rare find in the business book market. So many other books in the area of persuasion, influence and communication are either too deep in collegiate theory with no practical business application or too shallow with just feel good hype; this book is designed for those of us that own businesses and communicate with people on a daily basis. The principles found in The Psychology of Persuasion changed the way that I communicate with clients and has increased my yearly revenues. I have personally bought several copies of this book to share with my business associates.

I work both in therapy and sales so it is very important for me to know the best and most powerful methods available.
This book is one of the best starts you could ever hope for.

The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking , is both foundational and advanced. You will learn the basics of what makes people move in one way or the other. Armed with this knowledge your odds increase dramatically for having them move in the direction of your intention, that is if you have both yours and their best interest in mind.

People work in Patterns and can be very predictable , if you have the knowledge to understand the underlying processes. Kevin Hogan Gives you both the knowledge and underlying process to help make you an expert on Influence and Persuasion.

I don't care if it is for work or family or play, this book will help you improve your odds of getting what you want. It makes relationships with others easier and people begin to see you as someone who gets things done without all the resistance that so many others use.

Another thing i like about Kevin Hogan is that he continues to add to this knowledge. I know i can go to one place to get all the newest and best that is available in Influence and Persuasion. If it is new and useful , Kevin Knows about it.

Buy the book and start or enhance your Persuasion skills, Now!

Mark J. Ryan

I found the Psychology of Persuasion full of practical information written in language designed for those of us who are actually doing business instead of just teaching or writing about it. Those of us astute enough can also see how it can just as aptly be applied to our personal lives. Not many other books I've read on the art of persuasion has this cross marketability.
Mr Hogan appears to have an uncanny ability to know how to communicate knowledge in real world language and concepts which I immediately incorporated into training for my sales staff. The Psychology of Persuasion is a mandatory read for all my staff; from reception to sales. Our bottom line sales have increased directly because of this book. If you own a business - get this book!

Kevin spoke at the Round Table last month and he was amazing. He pounded out two solid hours of persuasion without a second of B.S. No product promo. No buy it later. Strategy after strategy. Method after method. I went home. Bought Psychology of Persuasion and Talk Your Way to the Top. I've read them both and I can tell you that this is excellent material. I've been selling financial products for almost 10 years. My focus has been insurance and The Psychology of Persuasion is one of those books that is going to help me get to the top.

I liked his fresh take on nonverbal communication. I liked his ethics. When you read Psychology of Persuasion by Hogan you learn to influence with integrity. I'm a master practitioner of NLP and I have never read anything like what was in the advanced section of this book. There isn't one word about NLP in the first 180 pages then you get sort of a specialized master course in NLP and it's applications in persuasion.

When Kevin was in Anaheim, he did mention that he thought Psychology of Persuasion was ready for a revision. I guess I'm happy to have read and learned a heck of a lot from the original.

This is a really good book for salespeople and business people. Enjoy.

DT

I saw Kevin Hogan speak last week. Excellent presenter. Dynamic and as knowledgable about persuasion as anyone I've ever listened to. I read his book this week and found it to match his character and integrity (and fun spirit) on stage. The book offers new insights for an investment counselor. Interestingly the content of his presentation didn't overlap the book in any way. That in itself was interesting. I think the book goes along side some of the names like Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy and Jim Rohn. I know I'll be reading his stuff for a long time to come.

Pick up The Power of Persuasion and I believe you will close more sales and make more money. I'm making changes in my business already!

I picked this one of a shelve in a sumer-cabin I was staying at and could not put it away until I had finished it. I think everyone can benefit from the advice in it. Even though some of the advice is common sense it is still valuable and worth reading over and over.

I don't work as a salesperson but I think this book can help me with my career, that is if I can remember the advice given in it.

The title should be "The Techniques of Persuasive Selling - How to Persuade People to Buy What You Sell." "Psychology" is advertised in the title, but it's sizzle with no steak. The "techniqes" are standard selling stuff. It's a quick read.

From reading this book, I believe Kevin Hogan is a gifted persuader and has a lot of knowledge to offer. His well-organized book provides numerous examples of techniques that will work in many situations. It's also research-based, and there are a few things here that I haven't seen anywhere else. In short, if you want a library of good books on persuasion, then this book will make an important contribution. However, if you want the best book on persuasion, this is not it.

"Psychology of Persuasion" has several relatively small weak points that might prevent you from buying it.
1. First, although the book is well-organized, the writing itself tends to stray at times. Perhaps because professors are accustomed to abstruse writing, it's difficult for them to write cogent sentences.
2. Hogan wrote this book with a sales perspective. Although he suggests that a person could use his techniques in other situations, he often leaves it to the reader to forge those connections.
3. Much of the dialogue sounds stilted, largely because it might remind you of a bad car salesman. Don't get me wrong: The techniques are sound; it's just that many of the examples lack a natural voice. On the flip side, a few of the examples are amazingly good and completely natural.
4. Lastly, Hogan goes out of his way to inform us of Biblical examples. Although the examples are mostly pertinent, some sound a little forced and a tad evangelical. This may make some people nervous in a book about persuation.

Overall, this book is very useful, but a good editor could make it a lot more fun to read. It's due for a reprint, and I hope that Hogan adds some polish for the next edition.

Kevin Hogan's The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your way of Thinking is an absolute treasure of insight into the human character and mind. His win/win scenarios and positive self-talk and thinking are great reminders and inspirations to every person no matter what their occupation. If you are looking for a book that can allow you to learn the secrets to success through postive communication and interpreting the cues of your client or anyone, this book is for you. A very good read and an absolute must for every salesperson's library.

My boss always used to say "It's a numbers game." Now the numbers are better! I used to close about one out of nine customers. I now close one out of six. I think the credit has to go to The Psychology of Persuasion.

When I started to apply Outcome Based Thinking, I was very skeptical but the results came within days. I know this sounds like a commercial but you want to have this book because it is so easy to follow the chart in exactly how to get people to buy from you.

I think this book is great and I'm happy to be able to write a review for it.

Hogan presents a solid approach to selling and influential communication that blends ethical influence and outcome oriented thinking. That's not easy and it's done with elegance.

The most important information for the salesman is in sending a powerful and passionate message. Hogan draws on his own personal experience, research from University studies and from his mentors like Ziglar, Hopkins and Tracy.

The book could be updated but as far as reading something that really is going to make a difference in your income, this is it.

This book is every salesperson's dream.
Hogan outlines everything in the form of a model for influence then proceeds to share a well conceived step by step approach that works as well in real life as it does in print.

I've been selling for almost half of my life (almost 20 years)and have found The Psychology of Persuasion to be one of the most helpful books about influence and communication I've ever read.

Any salesperson would do well to read and implement the paradigm of persuasion. The techniques of reading nonverbal communication, utilizing seating arrangements and so on is all easy to understand.

I love the book.

Marcy Singer

This was my text for the course several years ago and I found it to be remarkably helpful in launching my sales career.

What was important to me is that the author shows how to ethically persuade and not simply just get people to do things willy nilly.

I liked learning about hypnotic language, the NLP stuff and the body language chapters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who manages people or who is in selling. I read a review below that said the Outcome Based Thinking was really helpful to their staff. I would have to agree wholeheartedly. That was one of the parts of the book that really made it all come together for me.

I'm not in sales but I have met the author of this book a few times and can tell you that after I bought this book my management skills were definitely improved.

I found that communicating with my staff was much easier and that empowering others was a more attainable and reachable goal.

I think what helped the most was the chapter on nonverbal communication. Simply being able to understand what people are thinking on more than one level has been able to help me to know how to respond more effectively. Employees often cloak their feelings and smile.

The other way this book was helpful to me was in learning to build rapport effectively and I'd recommend the book to anyone for this chapter alone.

I really found this book practical, useful, and it has proven useful in our company.

The Power of Persuasion was really helpful to me in increasing my personal sales in insurance. Applying his Outcome Based Thinking, I was able to increase my in house closing ratio from about half to almost 65%, just using OBT. I know there is a lot more to absorb but I'm happy I saw Kevin talk in Las Vegas this spring and like his book, he was great. He stayed after his presentation and shook everyone's hand, answered every question and even coached people and then I got to talk with him. It was worth the wait. Thanks!