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Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical
Would understanding how people typically think and behave before you engage in a difficult conversation, tough negotiation, or make a simple request be helpful? Of course. Brian Ahearn's new book, Influence PEOPLE, explores the science behind the influence process--what drives people to take the actions you want them to take, without manipulation or trickery. Throughout the book you'll learn how to influence PEOPLE, in the workplace, at home, and in social interactions. This book isn't about changing people's minds or simply convincing them what you want them to do is right. It's much more than that; it's about changing people's behavior. Positive thoughts, and even agreement from others, only go so far--and seldom lead to a change in behavior. This book will help you bridge the gap between good intentions and actions. With more than 30 years of business experience and 15 years studying the influence process, Brian Ahearn shares with you the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to moving people to action. Here's just a handful of thought-provoking things you'll Only 20 people in the world hold the Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (R) designation and Brian Ahearn is one of the chosen few. He illustrates the practical application of the principles of influence popularized by Robert Cialdini in his bestselling books Science and Practice . After reading Influence PEOPLE , Cialdini " Influence PEOPLE is a treasure trove of instructive and entertaining personal accounts, informative research results, and extraordinarily useful tips for becoming consistently more influential. It shouldn't be missed." Dave Lakhani, author of The Art of Getting What You Want and Subliminal Persuasion "In Influence PEOPLE, Brian breaks persuasion down into manageable and easy to use chunks that anyone can learn and apply. He takes an idea that can be as complex as you'd like to make it and helps you learn in a fun, easy style." Don't wait any longer! Get your copy of Influence PEOPLE today. You can start applying the strategies immediately and see how seemingly small adjustments to your communications can have outsized impact. It's all about seizing those Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical.
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
170 pages, Paperback
Published August 9, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 27, 2022
Because Ahearn is only one of 20 people in the world who’ve been personally trained and certified by Robert Cialdini, I was attracted to this book. Cialdini is considered one of—and possibly THE—world’s leading experts on influence. I’ve known of his work for many years. But his book has a reputation for being a challenging, slow read, and I’ve never gotten around to it. The promise of a much more easily digested version was persuasive.
Ahearn starts right in on page 3 by turning PEOPLE into an acronym: Powerful, Everyday, Opportunities, Persuade, Lasting, Ethical. In Chapter 2, he introduces seven influence principles: Reciprocity, Liking, Authority, Consensus, Consistency, Scarcity, Unity (pp. 12-25). These two groups of words provide focus points throughout the book. Much later, he introduces a third: PAVE—Public, Active, Voluntary, Effort (pp. 128-130).
Some of my favorite tips and insights:
* Likeability is reciprocal; the things you like about someone help them like you as well (first introduced on p. 16 and brought back several times including the very end, on page 144).
* Asking rather than ordering someone will often achieve better results (pp. 21-22) and creates a sense of commitment, of buy-in (p. 122).
* Shared identities, interests, actions, or experiences lead to feelings of unity, consensus, and likeability (first introduced on pp 24-25).
* In pricing negotiations, the person who makes the first offer is in a position of strength, provided that person has a better offer already prepared (p. 28). Interestingly, this is the opposite of the advice in much sales training.
* Consistency is about THEM; authority is about YOU (p. 29).
* If we lead our persuasion attempts with research, we have much more authority, and better odds (p. 49).
* Right and wrong ways to respond to a thank-you, and why (p. 52).
* Different synonyms are treated differently: people are more likely to say they’d like to buy an inexpensive rather than a cheap car—and I remember a real-world video survey that asked people if they’d rather have the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. ACA won out by a large margin—but they were two names for the same law (p. 70).
* An advance gift, even a nearly worthless one (like address labels in a charity mailing) stimulates reciprocity more than a promise of later, much greater benefit (pp. 75-76).
* The cost and value of advice depends a lot on who is giving the advice; expertise builds authority (p. 85)—but so does social proof (p. 90).
* Our careers are central to our identity; we don’t believe a back-stabber who tells us it’s just business, nothing personal (p. 99).
* There are techniques to “armor plate” your customer’s loyalty to you, based on the seven principles (pp. 100-101).
* Living up to our personal branding raises the bar and forces us to be better people (p. 105).
Acknowledging weakness/mistakes and apologizing can be very powerful (he tells a great story of a personal experience of this) (p. 106).
* If you want results from social proof, frame things positively. My extrapolation, which Ahearn stops short of, would be to focus on the bravery and foresight of the small minority—make them feel special (p. 110). He also brought in a great interpretation of a study that showed older people more honest than younger cohorts. Instead of dissing the later generations for their lack of honesty, he wryly notes that as people age into more wisdom, they trend toward more honesty (pp. 138-139).
* Do the groundwork: what Cialdini calls “pre-suasion” (p. 124).
* When creating products, bring in the demographic of your target market; if you’re writing a book for teenagers, have a teen co-author, for example (p. 127).
Reinforce good outcomes by focusing on what the person is doing RIGHT (p. 139)
I have issues with some of Ahearn’s advice and conclusions. He, an insurance salesman, derisively described a pair of canvassers who knocked on his door, got him to sign a petition, and then to his apparent shock, used Cialdini-esque social proof strategies to try for a donation. Perhaps he didn’t realize that canvassers are usually commissioned salespeople who get paid based on what they collect for the organization—and that they were using the very techniques he extolls. Similarly, I was shocked by his suggestion not to make eye contact on the streets. I make eye contact and I SMILE at people, and most of them smile back. It brings light into the darkness and fosters a human connection, however brief. Inferring from context, he’s talking about situations in which eye contact is likely to lead to an unpleasant interaction—but he neglects to clarify that and could be misinterpreted.
Ahearn starts right in on page 3 by turning PEOPLE into an acronym: Powerful, Everyday, Opportunities, Persuade, Lasting, Ethical. In Chapter 2, he introduces seven influence principles: Reciprocity, Liking, Authority, Consensus, Consistency, Scarcity, Unity (pp. 12-25). These two groups of words provide focus points throughout the book. Much later, he introduces a third: PAVE—Public, Active, Voluntary, Effort (pp. 128-130).
Some of my favorite tips and insights:
* Likeability is reciprocal; the things you like about someone help them like you as well (first introduced on p. 16 and brought back several times including the very end, on page 144).
* Asking rather than ordering someone will often achieve better results (pp. 21-22) and creates a sense of commitment, of buy-in (p. 122).
* Shared identities, interests, actions, or experiences lead to feelings of unity, consensus, and likeability (first introduced on pp 24-25).
* In pricing negotiations, the person who makes the first offer is in a position of strength, provided that person has a better offer already prepared (p. 28). Interestingly, this is the opposite of the advice in much sales training.
* Consistency is about THEM; authority is about YOU (p. 29).
* If we lead our persuasion attempts with research, we have much more authority, and better odds (p. 49).
* Right and wrong ways to respond to a thank-you, and why (p. 52).
* Different synonyms are treated differently: people are more likely to say they’d like to buy an inexpensive rather than a cheap car—and I remember a real-world video survey that asked people if they’d rather have the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. ACA won out by a large margin—but they were two names for the same law (p. 70).
* An advance gift, even a nearly worthless one (like address labels in a charity mailing) stimulates reciprocity more than a promise of later, much greater benefit (pp. 75-76).
* The cost and value of advice depends a lot on who is giving the advice; expertise builds authority (p. 85)—but so does social proof (p. 90).
* Our careers are central to our identity; we don’t believe a back-stabber who tells us it’s just business, nothing personal (p. 99).
* There are techniques to “armor plate” your customer’s loyalty to you, based on the seven principles (pp. 100-101).
* Living up to our personal branding raises the bar and forces us to be better people (p. 105).
Acknowledging weakness/mistakes and apologizing can be very powerful (he tells a great story of a personal experience of this) (p. 106).
* If you want results from social proof, frame things positively. My extrapolation, which Ahearn stops short of, would be to focus on the bravery and foresight of the small minority—make them feel special (p. 110). He also brought in a great interpretation of a study that showed older people more honest than younger cohorts. Instead of dissing the later generations for their lack of honesty, he wryly notes that as people age into more wisdom, they trend toward more honesty (pp. 138-139).
* Do the groundwork: what Cialdini calls “pre-suasion” (p. 124).
* When creating products, bring in the demographic of your target market; if you’re writing a book for teenagers, have a teen co-author, for example (p. 127).
Reinforce good outcomes by focusing on what the person is doing RIGHT (p. 139)
I have issues with some of Ahearn’s advice and conclusions. He, an insurance salesman, derisively described a pair of canvassers who knocked on his door, got him to sign a petition, and then to his apparent shock, used Cialdini-esque social proof strategies to try for a donation. Perhaps he didn’t realize that canvassers are usually commissioned salespeople who get paid based on what they collect for the organization—and that they were using the very techniques he extolls. Similarly, I was shocked by his suggestion not to make eye contact on the streets. I make eye contact and I SMILE at people, and most of them smile back. It brings light into the darkness and fosters a human connection, however brief. Inferring from context, he’s talking about situations in which eye contact is likely to lead to an unpleasant interaction—but he neglects to clarify that and could be misinterpreted.
April 18, 2024
Shel,
That's the most in-depth review of my book so thank you for your time and effort.
I would like to address the two items that shocked you. Cialdini originally wrote Influence because, in his words, he was always a sucker for when it came to people wanting him to do something he knew he didn't want to do. That's why he included a section at the end of each chapter on how to protect yourself from those situations.
The canvassers did employ some of Cialdini's principles. My point was, people who signed the petition can feel trapped when it came to the donation request. That's the principle of consistency. The approach was, "Well, since you signed our petition why wouldn't you donate?" Many people will sign just to get rid of the canvasser but never intended to make a donation. That was what happened in my case. People can say no but my point was simply that many will give but never would have had they known what was coming. My advice was how to avoid a situation like that.
The other scenario had to do with a street vendor who gave a rose to a coworker. She did look him in the eye and was kind. When he began to follow us asking for money it was an uncomfortable situation. So again, my advice to avoid similar uncomfortable situations is to not engage eye contact. Even Cialdini writes about "gifts" that are not really gifts but only ploys to get someone to do something in return. That's not an ethical use of reciprocity.
Elizabeth is correct; Cialdini's principles can be used against people to get them to do things they'd rather not. That's why I stress the ethics of using the principles to create outcomes where both parties feel good about the interaction. I hope this clarifies the situations for you and other readers.
That's the most in-depth review of my book so thank you for your time and effort.
I would like to address the two items that shocked you. Cialdini originally wrote Influence because, in his words, he was always a sucker for when it came to people wanting him to do something he knew he didn't want to do. That's why he included a section at the end of each chapter on how to protect yourself from those situations.
The canvassers did employ some of Cialdini's principles. My point was, people who signed the petition can feel trapped when it came to the donation request. That's the principle of consistency. The approach was, "Well, since you signed our petition why wouldn't you donate?" Many people will sign just to get rid of the canvasser but never intended to make a donation. That was what happened in my case. People can say no but my point was simply that many will give but never would have had they known what was coming. My advice was how to avoid a situation like that.
The other scenario had to do with a street vendor who gave a rose to a coworker. She did look him in the eye and was kind. When he began to follow us asking for money it was an uncomfortable situation. So again, my advice to avoid similar uncomfortable situations is to not engage eye contact. Even Cialdini writes about "gifts" that are not really gifts but only ploys to get someone to do something in return. That's not an ethical use of reciprocity.
Elizabeth is correct; Cialdini's principles can be used against people to get them to do things they'd rather not. That's why I stress the ethics of using the principles to create outcomes where both parties feel good about the interaction. I hope this clarifies the situations for you and other readers.
October 17, 2019
This an excellent book on how to practically and morally influence people.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews