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342 of 365 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Scripted How to Win Friends and Influence People, June 8, 2000
This is a derivative work with script added, that builds on the psychological research of others. That approach can be beneficial, as long as you color between the lines. Lieberman promises you the moon. "This book contains only specific psychological tactics governing human behavior that will let you outsmart, outthink, and out maneuver . . . anyone, any place, anytime." After reading the book, I beg to differ. No book, and not this one, can do that much. If you are familiar with neuro-linguistic programming, Tony Robbins' work, and Robert Cialdini's work (Influence), you will find almost nothing new here. As usual, I watched closely to see what Lieberman would have to say about manipulation. His strongest argument is that everyone wants to help everyone else, and you are just making it easier for them to help you. Hmmm! Are you persuaded? If you are, rate the book a little higher. I thought several of the scripts were flawed, but many were quite good. The main problem related to being manipulative. But each of us has our own standards. If you are an unethical person looking to take advantage of someone, the methods in this book would often work all right for you. Frankly, I prefer the more balanced approach of Stephen Covey and Robert Cialdini in addressing when and where psychological tools can and should be used. The book is well done for what it is. If you don't share my concern about manipulation, be sure to read it. If you fear being manipulated, then be doubly sure to read it. Someone is bound to use these scripts on you at some time or other. Reading the book will be a good vaccine. Then you can resist what is truly not in your favor.
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75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
way overstated, April 3, 2004
This review is from: Get Anyone to Do Anything: Never Feel Powerless Again--With Psychological Secrets to Control and Influence Every Situation (Paperback)
Ok, think for a minute. Get "anyone" to do "anything." Wow! "Never feel powerless again!" Never ever! "With psychological secrets" (ooooh, science) "to control and influence every situation!" Every single one! Imagine, you can be a god!
If the title doesn't alert you to the fact, there is a lot of overstatement in this book. A lot. From the title to the last sentence, it never stops, it never gets less ridiculous.
On the other hand, check out that subtitle again: "Never Feel Powerless Again." Do you often feel powerless? If so, you will probably learn a lot from this book. Actually, the book is full of sound advice, insight into human relationships straight from actual academic psychological research. Even if you don't feel powerless often, you will probably find some decent tips in here that will improve your relationships with other people.
I'm not sure which to emphasize: the fact that there is a lot of sound advice, or the fact that this author is clearly a salesman targeting socially insecure people and promising them more than he (or anyone) can ever deliver.
It's not bad advice, but it is bad form.
Anyway, if you think you could benefit from reading this book, you probably could. It helps me to browse it every so often, reviewing some of the principles he discusses.
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67 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This guy is a stud!, January 24, 2002
This review is from: Get Anyone to Do Anything: Never Feel Powerless Again--With Psychological Secrets to Control and Influence Every Situation (Paperback)
I never thought I'd say that about a psychologist. In fact the more I re-read it (the title I gave these comments) I'm shocked. I don't usually like them. My impression of them is that they listen to people who have no one to talk to and rape them for their cash (which I find reprehensible). BUT. This guy has done excellent research (my hats off). These are the things I loved about his book: 1. The purpose of the book is not to control and manipulate like the title suggests, but rather to illuminate. 2. It's packed with information (short 2-3 page chapters, summaries of the important points at the end: I.E. you can skip the verbage and go straight for the bullet points.) 3. It's obviously correct. Although years of testing and observation produced the conclusions in this book, common sense validates the results. And these aren't the kinds of things you could figure out without his book. 4. It could seriously fix a broken relationship or start a new one with nearly anyone.
Here's an example (I'd normally feel guilty giving examples, but the man has tons):
When you suspect someone of lying present them with a conundrum. The purpose is not to listen to the response but to observe the behavior. Specifically, if your husband tells you he went to the movies with friends. Mention "Oh yeah, I heard that the reason for all of the traffic after work was because of the car accident near the movie theatre. Did you see it?" This creates a stun effect. Two conditions must be met. 1) Heavy Traffic 2) A car accident. If he really went to the movies the response would blurt out, but if he didn't he has to be careful with his answer and he hesitates.
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