Newsletter October 2009

The Art of Influencing People

Getting other people to do what you want them to do is an art and a science that you must master if you want to succeed in this age of rapid change, teaming, decentralized controls and doing more with less. Just stop and think for a moment how much of your time is spent attempting to get other people to do what you want them to do. This article provides you with 5 principles that really work.

The Principle of Liking: People like people who like them.
People who are liked generate affection and good feeling. And people who feel good about themselves are more likely to comply with your wishes.

Strategy #1: Become an active listener so that you can discover what you like about another person. To make this work, use your mental energy to focus on the good stuff in the other person and then let him or her know about it. It's important to be genuine and sincere. Most people have an internal "rubbish detector," and if they feel that you are not congruent-that is your words do not match your body language-they will discount what you say.

Strategy #2: Find what you have in common with another person and let him/her know about it. Similarities establish a positive bond with others and create goodwill and trustworthiness. For example, research into the buying behavior of people has repeatedly verified that we are more likely to buy from someone we like and have something in common with. And even though you may not be making your living from sales, you do sell all of the time.

The Principle of Reciprocity: Whatever you give is what you're going to get.
It seems so simple, yet so powerful. If you want more of something-may it be love, money, or trust-you have to give it before you get it. Charities figured this out a long time ago. They found that by including a little gift with their solicitation letter-such as personalized address labels-they could almost double the response rates. What works for charities will also work for you.

And it is no different in management. If you want your team members to trust, respect, and cooperate with you, model the behavior you want, and you will get more of it. The key is to do it, not just talk about it. You see if you talk a good game, but don't back your words with action, your team members will quickly discount your words, and take their cues from what you do.

The Principle of Commitment: People are more likely to do what they commit to.
Getting someone to voluntarily commit to a course of action, getting him/her to put that commitment in writing and making it public will dramatically increase your ability to not only persuade someone, but also actually have them follow through. The second key to making the Law of Commitment work is to get it in writing. The third key is to make the commitment public. Once people make their commitment public they will tend to escalate their commitment even if it is against their own interest.

The Principle of Expertise: People are more likely to heed the advice of experts.

People who are perceived as experts have a greater ability to persuade others. Robert Cialdini reported in an October 2001 Harvard Business Review article that most hospital stroke patients tended to abandon the exercise routines prescribed by physical therapists. Interviews revealed that patients were familiar with the credentials of their physicians-whose instructions they tended to comply with-but they knew very little about the qualifications of the physical therapists. The remedy: display academic diplomas and certificates of the physical therapists in the exercise room. The result: exercise compliance increased by 34%.

You can take advantage of this law by making your expertise more visible. If you are in sales, prominently display your sales awards where most of your customers can see them, and if you are in management share your prior experience and expertise with your team members and customers

The Principle of Scarcity. People want more of what they can't have.
Any time you see a "limited time"; "one-of-a kind", "act now" offer, you are face to face with the law of scarcity. Study after study has demonstrated that that which is less available is perceived as more valuable

You can take advantage of this Law by highlighting the exclusivity of an offer or opportunity. This law can also increase the perceived value of information. Far more people will be interested in what you have to say if your information appears to be exclusive and not readily available.

How to Take it to the Next Level
In order to increase your ability to persuade and influence people you will want to consider using a combination of these five laws.