The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 15 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Cialdini: Humans Are Only Species with Concept of Future Obligation
“I mean, for the first time in evolutionary history, all these species, besides us, never had the concept of future obligation to return what has been provided to them.”
Cialdini: McDonald's Families Bought 25% More Food When Given Balloons First
“The other half, each kid got the balloon as they entered. Those families bought 25% more food because they had been given something first.”
Cialdini: Tailored Free Gifts Boosted Fast-Food Purchases by 24%
“Researchers did a study. People came in, and one-third of them just went to the to the counter and ordered their food. Another third of them came in and were given a very attractive key ring with a beautiful medallion on it by the management. Oh, thank you for…”
Cialdini: 6,700-Site Study Found Scarcity of Supply Top Conversion Driver
“There was a study of 6700 E-commerce sites and A-B tests that were done for various components inside those sites. Does the site have free delivery? Does the site have a search function? Does every appeal end with a call to action? They had 29 of those. The to…”
Cialdini: Cuban Missile Crisis Ended via Secret Reciprocal Missile Trade
“It turns out that there was a secret deal that was made between Kennedy and Khrushchev. It was a reciprocal concessions deal. Kennedy said, if you will remove your missiles from Cuba, we'll remove ours from Turkey that are pointed at you.”
Cialdini: Sharing commonalities dropped email negotiation deadlocks from 30% to 6%
“In that case,
Stymied negotiations went from 30% to six percent.
When the researchers analyzed the data, it wasn't the amount of personalizing information that had been sent across, it was how many commonalities were in those accounts.”
Cialdini: Opower prevented 30 billion pounds of CO2 via neighbor comparisons
“Opower has, is responsible for 30 billion pounds of carbon dioxide that have not been released into the environment because people have reduced their energy conservation by just knowing what their comparable neighbors are doing and saying, well, then I can do …”
Cialdini: 4.2 to 4.7 star ratings drive higher conversions than 5.0
“There was a great study that looked at which star rating on a product review was most likely to produce a conversion from a prospect to a customer. It wasn't a five-point rating. It was a range between 4.2 and 4.7. People were on to the tricksters who were loa…”
Cialdini: Moving expert testimonials to top of Bose ad increased sales 15%
“I know that when Bose Acoustics we were working with them, when they added to an ad for a product that they had called the Bose Wave Music System A line of testifiers right at the start of the ad, all over to the left, just as you read the ad, and up at the to…”
Cialdini: Asking 'Will you call to cancel?' reduced restaurant no-shows by 67%
“It was a study done in Chicago with a restaurant owner named Gordon Sinclair. It's a famous restaurant called Gordon's there in Chicago. And he's since retired, but while he was operating, he had a problem. No shows. People who would call, they make a reservat…”
Cialdini: Retreating to smaller request raised blood donation compliance to 55%
“We go from 33% of people who agree to give the next day, right, if that's the only thing we ask them, to 55%. If we retreat to that, We make a concession. Oh, so you can't do the two-year thing that we would most like, but would you do this one thing? So now w…”
Cialdini: Joe Girard averaged six vehicle sales per day
“Joe Girard, he was the world's greatest salesperson, according to the Guinness Book of Records, for like 12 years in a row.
He sold automobiles, Chevrolets, from a dealership in Detroit, in the Detroit area.
He sold an average of six
Cars and trucks a day, eve…”
Cialdini: Labeling dishes 'most popular' boosted restaurant orders by 13% to 20%
“Those items that got the asterisk then became purchased 13 to 20% more frequently. So what did the asterisk represent? It wasn't what we normally see when there are little asterisks next to items on the menu, like this is a specialty of the house, or this is w…”
Cialdini: Reframing Bose Ad Headline Around FOMO Increased Sales 45%
“What we did was to change the word new to hear what you've been missing. The idea of missing out says, no time for waiting. No, no, I have to get this. I don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss out on this great thing, right? That change produced a 45% inc…”
Cialdini: Invoking shared student identity increased campus charity donations by 400%
“Researchers asked a young woman, college age woman, to stand on a heavily trafficked part of campus and ask people to donate to a good cause. I think it was the United Way. And she was getting some contributions. If she said Before she made the request, one th…”