Along the same lines, I've found www.changingminds.org to be the mother of all sites for techniques on convincing people to do what you want them to do.
What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
51–60 of 66 posts
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#52Turkey is nice, been a few times. You really need to become immune from this kind of thing, or at least play them at their own game. If they say 100 euros, you say 20 and agree on 40. Seriously - they are there to rip you off and would sell anything for any price if they thought they had got you to pay more than you first wanted to. :)
In India I once hailed an auto rickshaw and had him take me about half a kilometer in the rain. I asked him in American-accented English what the fare was, and he said 200 rupees. I started yelling at him in perfect Bengali that I wasn't born yesterday even though I am a foreigner, and that I spend a lot of time in India. He countered with an offer of 10 rupees, and I gave him 20 because I was laughing so hard. The s…
It would probably work on me. What is that.. like $4?
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#53If you are interested in some light reading on the topic of influence and negotiation, I definitely recommend reading the book that the author references. It's titled Influence: The psychology of persuasion by Robert Cialdini.
While the principles discussed are pretty simple (they were all named in the article), Cialdini explains them very well. They are immediately applicable and will definitely be useful for anyone needing to influence/manage other people.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#54The book he mentions explains why Facebook and social networking sites work as well as they do. Have you ever wondered why Facebook never invites you to be friends with someone, its always "Your friend thinks you might know.." Just the tiny change from saying "You might know..." to "Your friend thinks you might know..." makes a huge difference. I encourage anyone to read the book, because it has huge implications for marketing and start-ups. It explains a lot of why things work the way they do, why people like Apple, why people are encouraged to buy, or discouraged. Its a dry read, but invaluable.
It will even tell you how to monetize Twitter... :)
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#55I must confess that I very much hate bargaining. I can't overcome the feeling that the other person tries to steal my money, and now I have to be careful and defend myself to reduce the damage. Then, I will end up with a stuff I don't really need. Regarding the Turkey story, I just would not follow the man no matter what. I can't help, but persuasion doesn't work on me - the more other person tries to persuade me, th…
Pretty much everything is open to bargaining, it's just a matter of whether it's worth your time. If you don't bargain, you are automatically allowing the other person to steal your money. You bet I bargained when I bought my house, when I bought my car.
I've seen bargaining even in department stores, a woman haggling down the price of Coach bags in Macy's by offering to buy several at once. She got the discount.
Just like you, I don't like being sold to, but I have no problem bargaining for something that I seek out myself. In Thailand and India I bargained for clothes, for my backpack, for cab fare, for souvenirs. It was not adversarial at all, and often both me and the merchant was having fun, trying to read each other's minds, pushing and retreating, biding our time. In a way it's kind of like dating =)
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a guy start something like this in Rome recently. I reacted so strongly to being touched by a stranger selling stuff that the guy called me names. I guess I'm just not used to personal contact except handshake.
In some countries, it is not unusual for male friends (heterosexual friends) to sometimes hold hands when they walk
In my experience, Rome isn't one of those places.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
By the end, have you bought 3 more books, the training tapes, and a lifetime subscription to his newsletter?
I read the same book. It was compulsory for a management class I was doing. A lot of people rave about how great it is, but personally I couldn't quite overcome the niggling voice of shame in the back of my head that said "You're reading a self-help book". I felt dirty afterwards, and I stored the book in a drawer rather than on my bookshelf. It's probably not really a bad book, though.
Why feel shame at reading a book which improves your skills? Would you feel shame after reading a startup self-help book such as "Getting Real"?
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#58I must confess that I very much hate bargaining. I can't overcome the feeling that the other person tries to steal my money, and now I have to be careful and defend myself to reduce the damage. Then, I will end up with a stuff I don't really need. Regarding the Turkey story, I just would not follow the man no matter what. I can't help, but persuasion doesn't work on me - the more other person tries to persuade me, th…
Pretty much everything is open to bargaining, it's just a matter of whether it's worth your time. If you don't bargain, you are automatically allowing the other person to steal your money. You bet I bargained when I bought my house, when I bought my car. I've seen bargaining even in department stores, a woman haggling down the price of Coach bags in Macy's by offering to buy several at once. She got the discount. Jus…
In a way it's kind of like dating
You mean, if you're not careful about how you do it, you might end up screwed and coming home with something that you didn't want? :)
(sorry, had to be said)
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
In India I once hailed an auto rickshaw and had him take me about half a kilometer in the rain. I asked him in American-accented English what the fare was, and he said 200 rupees. I started yelling at him in perfect Bengali that I wasn't born yesterday even though I am a foreigner, and that I spend a lot of time in India. He countered with an offer of 10 rupees, and I gave him 20 because I was laughing so hard. The s…
It would probably work on me. What is that.. like $4?
$5.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#60Somehow the story sounds fake..
Would Turkish people really know English that well? Would they be able to communicate like that?