# Persuasion Cialdini Influence Design

> Design ethical persuasion using Cialdini principles with evidence-backed claims. Use when crafting high-impact messages, proposals, or campaigns that require principle-to-proof traceability and channel-specific execution.

- Skill: `santos-sanz/persuasion-cialdini-influence-design` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add santos-sanz/persuasion-cialdini-influence-design`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/santos-sanz/persuasion-cialdini-influence-design/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: santos-sanz (https://skillmd.com/u/santos-sanz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/santos-sanz/persuasion-cialdini-influence-design

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# Cialdini Influence Design

Use $ARGUMENTS as initial context.

## When to use this skill
- Persuasive emails, pitches, proposals, and campaign messaging.
- Internal influence communications requiring buy-in.
- GTM or marketing copy that needs credible proof structures.
- Situations where persuasion must remain ethical and non-manipulative.

## When not to use this skill
- Do not use it to pressure people into decisions they cannot reasonably understand or reverse.
- Do not use it for factual research, market sizing, or a decision memo whose primary need is analysis rather than influence design.

## Required inputs
- Objective, audience, and desired action.
- Available proof points and constraints.
- Channel, tone, and execution timeline.
- Audience vulnerability, consent, disclosure, and legal/compliance constraints.

## Workflow
1. Define target behavior and decision context.
2. Identify barriers, motivators, and decision criteria.
3. Select 2-3 Cialdini principles that best match context.
4. Build traceability matrix: principle -> evidence -> claim.
5. Draft channel-specific message variants with clear CTA and transparent terms.
6. Run ethical risk check, freshness check, and claim-evidence audit.

## Ask-first questions
Ask up to 3 questions before drafting:
1. What action should the audience take and by when?
2. Which proof points are verifiable today?
3. What ethical or legal boundaries cannot be crossed?

## Assumption policy
- If proof is incomplete, clearly mark assumptions and confidence.
- Do not use fabricated urgency, fake social proof, or inflated authority.
- State when claim strength exceeds evidence strength.
- Record source, date, population, and limitations for every material proof point.

## Output contract
Always produce these sections in order:
1. Context
2. Decision or Recommendation
3. Analysis
4. Risks
5. Next Actions
6. Assumptions
- Label material statements as Fact, Inference, Assumption, or Unknown and include confidence where relevant.
- Every action includes an owner, due date, and success signal.
- Every external claim includes a source and date; unsupported claims are not presented as proof.

## Guardrails
- Every persuasive claim must map to verifiable evidence.
- Keep emotional framing proportional to factual support.
- Include at least one trust-preserving alternative for skeptical audiences.
- Reject coercive language or misleading scarcity.
- Disclose material incentives, costs, data use, limitations, and meaningful alternatives.

## Handoffs
- Use `research-evidence-synthesis` when proof points or audience claims need to be gathered or verified first.
- Use `pyramid-principle-structured-communication` when the deliverable is an executive recommendation rather than a campaign or message.
- Use `negotiation-voss-tactical-empathy` when the audience response involves reciprocal terms, concessions, or a walk-away boundary.

## Resources
- `references/cialdini-principles.md` - Principle selection and usage cues.
- `references/ethical-guardrails.md` - Non-manipulation and compliance checks.
- `templates/persuasion-brief.md` - Decision-ready persuasion template.
- `examples/persuasion-cialdini-example.md` - Golden example with proof mapping.

## Keywords
persuasion, Cialdini, social proof, authority, reciprocity, scarcity, commitment, ethics