Make people fall in love with your ideas. How’s that for a compelling subtitle? It made me buy the book. A small 150-page book, well designed with interesting illustrations and well written. A thoughtful and practical book with proven methods and fresh ideas.
Read MoreMost of us can remember where we were when events, both good and bad, have happened in the world. Or remember being in the audience for a great or inspirational speech. Some remember a show or musical that fed the soul or just made you laugh to the point of tears. I still remember how elated I was seeing the Lion King for the first time in London. Or more recently being dragged by my cousin to see the Book of Mormon, irreverent, but very funny.
Read MoreWhether you are a Star Wars fan or not, Yoda shared some great insights in the Star War movies that will stand the test of time. When it comes to focus his quote is a gem, with persuasion it has 100% applicability to your success – do, or do not.
Read MoreEvery year, for every person in Australia the government spends $20,000. Every year, for every person in Australia the government collects income tax of $10,000. Can you picture that?
Read MoreAs a lecturer in change management at AGSM, I talk with many professionals from different companies and industries. A few innovative companies are working on improving their customer experience and their employee experience. These innovative companies are introducing artificial intelligence (Ai) and increasing the skills of their people, particularly their social intelligence. These companies are making courageous decisions to invest in a time of uncertainty to create a competitive edge. In an increasingly challenging business environment, sitting back and waiting to see what the future will bring is a very dangerous strategy.
Read MoreIn business today people are so busy and so pushed to deliver results that, with important customers or important family members, they talk more than listen. People will rarely listen to you if they don’t feel that you have listened and understood them. Listening is important.
A few weeks ago with an IT executive, we discussed some implementation challenges with his strategy. When we finished, he said, “Thanks, I enjoyed our meeting, it was just like talking to a rubber plant.”
Read MoreOver the past 25 years, as I have worked with individuals, teams and companies on how to be persuasive in front of groups to buy your message, I am always asked the quickest way to be successful.
My comment is always the same, have a solid process behind your message and practice, practice, and then more practice.
Read MoreHave you ever needed to change a large group’s thinking or behaviour? A difficult situation, but recent research can help with this. As always, remember to stay ethical, you can use this for good and bad.
How many people in a group do you need to change the minds of others?
Read MoreWhen changing made-up minds, we looked at some Cialdini tools and the power of stories. Once you understand the foundations of persuasion, there are many insights from persuasion research that can help in specific practical situations. The book The Small Big written by Steve Martin, Noah Goldstein and guru Robert Cialdini is a fantastic source of ideas. The idea of the book is to share some small things that can make a big difference to persuasion. There are 50 short chapters each devoted to an idea supported by rigorous research.
Read MoreFor those cases when you face people with made-up minds, we continue to give you some ideas to get unstuck and to get other people to change their minds. In part 1 we used some of the ideas of persuasion guru, Robert Cialdini.
Many powerful ways to change made-up minds use emotion. Business psychologist Peter Sullivan often explains that the word emotion can be written as e-motion and explains this as e is the electrical force that puts us into motion.
Read MoreRegularly, clients ask how to change others minds, especially when it appears the other person has made up their mind and seems unlikely to change. Sometimes this is because you are not trying to persuade the other person, you are just giving them your opinion and then getting frustrated because they don’t agree with you. But let’s assume you have tried some professional ways to persuade and you are stuck. In a series of blogs, we will give you some ideas to get unstuck and to get other people to change their minds.
Read MoreThe word strategy is often misused and misunderstood. When we use the word we mean the simple definition used by the McKinsey consultant Kenichi Omhae: strategy is the intersection of three groups: customers, competitors and the company.
Read MoreBefore you even open your mouth, the audience will begin to make judgements about you. Their first impressions of you are based on your image.
Read MoreYou have a mountain of data but how can you use it to persuade and provide you with a competitive edge?
Read MoreA story or metaphor is a persuasive use of words because stories persuade with emotion.
Some of the best persuaders: sales people, negotiators, psychiatrists, counselors and consultants persuade with stories and metaphors.
Read MoreWhen Persuading for Results, involving your audience throughout your presentation helps maintain their attention. Indeed, self-discovery and practical application is often the most effective way of learning and the most effective way of persuading. There are many ways to involve people, depending on the size of your audience. You may like to give people an opportunity to test your product, or to have them work with your ideas actively. Make sure the activity you use is linked back to your message. The activity should reinforce your message, not distract from it.
Read the full blog for some ideas on involving your audience.
Read MoreAnalysts feel pain while trying to convince senior audiences with data. There is a great article that states the solution when persuading executives with data is to frame your message using one or more of the following four topics:
You must pitch for some business. Where do you start? Most managers answer this question correctly: with the customer and what they want. However most managers get the answer to the next question wrong: What should you do next?
What is the correct answer?
Read MoreHow do you make sure that your pitch is effective? Make your presentations relevant to your customers. Robert Cialdini, persuasion guru has been researching persuasion since 1970. In his 2016 book Pre-suasion, he explains when to use his six universal principles of influence. But how should you apply these during your pitch?
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