The first step to being more persuasive

My brother always gets asked the same question at parties when they find out what he does:

‘So, <snigger> are you going to read my mind, then?’

He’s a psychologist, not a psychic. (Seemingly the two are easily confused....)

But most of us are fascinated by the idea of getting inside other people’s heads.

A brief glance at Netflix shows like The Mentalist and Medium shows how hungry we are for tales of people who can predict human behaviour.

Most of the time the shows’ heroes use their skills to solve grisly murders (who knew there were so many serial killers out there?  It’s a wonder any of us leave the house.)

But those sleuthing skills are useful for business, too.

You see, understanding what makes people tick is a gift in the workplace. It allows us to connect with people, win them over and get them to say yes.

But the problem is, most of us don’t understand the science of persuasion.

We’re all at sea – getting frustrated with colleagues and clients when they don’t do what we want, and missing out on valuable opportunities.

So where’s the best place to start if you want to become more influential?

Notice what influences YOU.

For the next 24 hours, notice:

• What you buy – why did that Instagram/Facebook ad stop your thumbs from scrolling? How did it persuade you to buy some piece of cr@p you don’t need? (Just me? Oh.)

  
  

• What you watch - Why did you click on that Netflix show? What was it about the picture that drew you in? (Netflix tests out thousands of options each day)

  
  

• What you eat – why did you choose that restaurant? What about the menu description encouraged you to pick that particular dish?

And so on in every area of your life.

As my client, Barbara, a Senior Training Lead at a law firm (and influence obsessive like me), told me last week:

‘When you start looking, you see these influence tactics everywhere.’

And if your team needs help becoming more persuasive, we’re excited to announce we’re now Certified Cialdini Practitioners (trained under the godfather of influence himself, Robert Cialdini.)

This means we can train your people on the science of persuasion and impact to boost every area of your business.