What attracts people to each other, is finding things in common.
We all do this, of course.
You meet someone. Introduce yourself. And then what do you do?
You starting asking each other questions looking for something in common.
It could be anything. Schools attended, hometowns, religion, number of siblings, vocation of relatives, hobbies, places traveled, etc.
The more common ground you find here, the more you will – generally – get along with each other and enjoy each other’s company.
Of course, this idea can be used to your advantage as well.
Say you are interviewing for a job.
If you dress like the CEO, talk like the CEO, and go to the same gym and church as the CEO – you would certainly be ahead of everyone else with fewer similarities.
As both researchers and compliance professionals know, there are several, and one of the most influential is similarity. We like people who are similar to us. This fact seems to hold true whether the similarity is in the area of opinions, personality traits, background, or life-style. Consequently, those who wish to be liked in order to increase our compliance can accomplish that purpose by appearing similar to us in any of a wide variety of ways.
-Robert Cialdini, Influence
