Background words can be a simple, but convincing means of influence. Robert Cialdini discusses some fascinating examples in his new book, Pre-suasion. One of Cialdini’s discussion points is the way an outstanding US health service even goes to the extent of aligning terms used in internal communication with its corporate healthful values and medical ethics. This highly successful non-profit organization even goes to the extent of avoiding violent metaphors generally taken for granted and ...
Read morePeople like those who like them and who are like them Some people have the happy knack of persuasion – of getting others to do what they want. They seem to do it instinctively while most of us struggle to sway others to our way of thinking. But psychological research has shown that persuasion is more than instinct – you can use it by appealing to a limited set of deeply rooted human drives ...
Read moreAn elevator pitch is the brief summary or pitch relating to your organization, your product or yourself that can be made in about 30 seconds, ie the time it takes to ride in the typical elevator and tell someone your story. Elevator pitches are valuable to senior executives to use in business and sales presentations, speeches and interviews. They are also valuable for interesting someone important to you. For many people, without even realizing ...
Read moreSome people have the happy knack of persuasion – of getting others to do what they want. They seem to do it instinctively while most of us struggle to sway others to our way of thinking. But psychological research has shown that persuasion is more than instinct – you can use it in predictable ways by appealing to a limited set of deeply rooted human drives and needs. Persuasion is governed by basic principles ...
Read moreGive what you want to receive If you do something for someone, they feel obliged to repay the favor. People feel a strong obligation to repay favors, gifts, invitations and the like. This powerful principle, applying in every society on earth, stems from the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is the powerful psychological principle of reciprocity, that Professor Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and ...
Read moreResearch has found it is very important to connect people’s work with outcomes. When people know their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others, they are happier and much more productive than those who don’t make a connection. How can a link best be established? Put one person in front of another. Put a recipient in front of a provider, and the beneficial change will happen. Just being aware of the impact your ...
Read moreUse the principle of authority - people defer to experts. The application: reveal your expertise; don’t assume it is self-evident. People believe an expert. Research has consistently shown that the opinion of an expert quoted in a major newspaper or on a national television news program can shift public opinion immediately by up to 5%. Also, findings from the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer survey echoed consistent results from previous years in rating company technical ...
Read morePeople rely heavily on others around them for cues on how to think, feel and act. Experiments have confirmed this intuitive characteristic.Professor Robert Cialdini has been a leader in advocating this form of influence and persuasion in his best-selling book, Influence: Science and Practice and on his firm's website, Influence at Work. Use peer power whenever you can The lesson for you is that persuasion can be extremely effective when it comes from peers.For instance, ...
Read moreGenerating creative ideas is only half the battle. It is difficult enough to come up with a new creative angle, but then we often have to sell the wonderful idea to decision makers who are just not on the same wavelength. Most communicators are familiar with this problem. So what can we do about it? In fact, it can be extremely difficult to get decision makers to back an idea. They might have a ...
Read moreBy Jessica Henderson, Account Executive at Painted Dog Research, Perth, Western Australia. Every day we are bombarded with information from television, the internet, social media, radio, and from people we talk with. We accept a lot of information from these sources as true unless we have a reason not to. However, occasionally (and perhaps less occasionally in election campaigns – shades of Donald Trump!), information we have accepted as being true turns out to ...
Read moreImage: World Economic Forum 'COVID Action Platform.' More details in the 'Resources' section below. The effects of the catastrophic COVID-19
If you want a high performing organization, you need to engage and inspire your middle managers. They are the key
Employers want communications professionals who continue to develop key skills Recruiters are actively seeking to place internal communications professionals who