Examines the art of effective persuasion to argue that its secret lies in a key moment before messages are delivered, sharing strategies for how to psychologically prepare one's listeners to render them most receptive. Social psychologist Robert Cialdini shines a light on peak persuasion and reveals that the secret doesn't lie in the message itself, but in the key moment before the message is delivered. What separates average persuaders from extraordinarily successful ones? Using the same combination of rigorous scientific research and accessibility that made his Influence an iconic bestseller, Cialdini explains how the best communicators capitalize on "privileged moments for change," in which audiences become receptive to a message before they experience it. Optimal persuasion is achieved through optimal pre-suasion. To change minds, savvy pre-suaders first change "states of mind." Altering a listener's attitudes, beliefs, or experiences isn't necessary, says Cialdini--all that's required is to alter the audience's focus of attention just before requesting a relevant action. He draws on an array of studies and accounts, from successful online marketing campaigns to effective wartime propaganda efforts, illustrating how the artful channeling of attention leads to potent pre-suasion and positive outcomes.--Adapted from dust jacket.

Part 1: Pre-suasion: the frontloading of attention. Pre-suasion: an introduction ; Privileged moments ; The importance of attention...is importance ; What's focal is causal ; Commanders of attention 1: the attractors ; Commanders of attention 2: the magnetizers -- Part 2: Processes: the role of association. The primacy of associations: I link, therefore I think ; Persuasive geographies: all the right places, all the right traces ; The mechanics of pre-suasion: causes, constraints, and correctives -- Part 3: Best practices : the optimization of pre-suasion. Six main roads to change: broad boulevards as smart shortcuts ; Unity 1: being together ; Unity 2: acting together ; Ethical use: a pre-pre-suasive consideration ; Post-suasion: aftereffects.