Cialdini Influence Design

Use $ARGUMENTS as initial context.

When to use this skill

• Writing persuasive emails, landing pages, or sales decks.
• Creating proposals, pitches, or internal change messages.
• Designing campaigns that need social proof or authority.
• Any request to influence behavior ethically.

How to use this skill

1. Define objective, audience, desired action, and ethical boundaries.
2. Identify barriers, motivators, and decision criteria.
3. Select 2-3 principles that fit the context.
4. Map each principle to concrete evidence.
5. Draft the message with structure: hook, value, proof, action.
6. Adapt tone and format to the delivery channel.
7. Propose variants and a simple test plan if needed.
8. If information is missing, ask targeted questions.

Resources

• references/cialdini-principles.md - Definitions, best use cases, pitfalls.
• references/ethical-guardrails.md - Check for coercion or manipulation.
• templates/persuasion-brief.md - Final structure.
• examples/persuasion-cialdini-example.md - Sample output.

Output guidelines

• Provide 1-3 message variants when useful.
• Tie each proof point to a chosen principle.

Missing information to ask for

• Audience, context, and channel.
• Primary benefit, objections, and proof points.
• Constraints (brand, legal, tone, length).

Keywords

persuasion, Cialdini, social proof, authority, reciprocity, scarcity, commitment, unity