How to Have More Influence at Work
Cialdini-certified Steve Martin on tools to influence others at work
People
Inspiration
Marketing
We face a sea of information every day. It's time-consuming and exhausting. So, humans find ways to shortcut decision-making.
We buy the phone our friends buy, we choose the café that looks popular, we drive the car that’s consistently reliable.
Turns out what we are doing here is looking for a cue, a “rule of thumb” to save us time and energy.
Together, these human behaviours lead us to the 7 principles of influence first exposed 40 years ago by Influence author and researcher Robert Cialdini and shared this week in our interview with Steve Martin, author of "Influence at Work."
Here’s a quick summary of the learnings from our interview and Steve's book.
7 Principles of Influence
According to Robert Cialdini, author of "Influence":
“…..the ever-accelerating pace and informational crush of modern life will make this particular form of unthinking compliance more and more prevalent in the future.”
We're busy, so we look for a quick fix to our problem.
Steve Martin asks us to think of the 7 Principles of Influence and Persuasion as a decision trigger for “yes.”
When one or another of the principles is present in a request, the tendency to “trigger” agreement increases, he says.
Here are the 7 principles:
Reciprocity – You give something, people feel obligated to give you something in return
Liking – People do business with people they like
Unity - People say 'yes' to those they see as having a shared identity with them
Authority – If you’re considered an authority, you have more chance of influencing
Social Proof – People tend to follow the herd
Consistency – We like to act in a way that’s consistent with our values or beliefs
Scarcity – We are attracted to things that are scarce
Let's descibe each in more detail.
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Reciprocity
The key to activating the principle of reciprocity is to give something first. As Steve explains in "Influence at Work," McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America saw a 20% increase in parents buying coffees when the restaurants switched from giving a free balloon to children as they left to presenting children with a free balloon when they entered.
Intangible gifts (your advice, your trust, your time) can be more powerful than tangible gifts, and more powerful again when they are perceived to be significant, unexpected, and personalised.
Tip: Don’t just email a report. Print it out and send a signed and personalised copy to the client.
Liking
Liking is activated by commonalities, compliments, and co-operation.
We like people who are similar to us.
In one study of negotiation outcomes, the percentage of deadlocks fell 24% when parties did some prior sharing of similarities.
Humour works too! An experiment sending emails with or without a cartoon showed a 15.2% increase in business awarded when a cartoon was included.
Tip: The first rule of influence is to like others. So, make sure you point out something you like about the person you’re dealing with.
Unity
People say "yes" to those they see as "one of them."
In a research study, Manchester United football fans were more likely to help an injured jogger wearing their team's colours than their rival team's colours. Things improved a little when they were prepped beforehand to discuss their general love of football (not the narrower love of their team). More of the fans helped joggers in non-MUN colours in this instance.
Tip: Highlight the existence of "identity relevant factors" before you attempt to influence others.
Also, people can see themselves as unified with you if you ask for advice, rather than feedback.
Authority
Humans look up to those who are an authority in a certain domain. They look for knowledge/expertise and credibility/trustworthiness.
And, what you say to people pales in comparison to what other people say about you.
In an experiment of real estate agents, receptionists were told to change how they answered incoming calls from “Let me put you through to John X, head of sales” to “Let me put you through to head of sales John X, he’s got 20 years’ experience in this specific area, trained in London [etc]…he’s the best person you can speak to.”
There was a 19.6% increase in appointments made, and 15.5% increase in sales made.
Tip: Consider how you are introduced before you present your case. At meetings, instead of going around the table introducing yourselves, have your team leader share each team member’s expertise with the others in the room.
Consistency
Consistency is activated by undertaking a commitment or stance on an issue, and the reminder of a prior (public) choice or position.
The most effective commitments tend to be voluntary, active and effortful, and public.
Loyalty reward cards can combine reciprocity and consistency. Giving customers a headstart on their reward card (by stamping a couple of squares on the card “to get you started”) has shown to a 34% in customers completing the loyalty reward cards.
In one experiment at a medical centre, patient no-shows were reduced by 18% after patients were directed to fill in the appointment cards themselves (it takes effort, it’s a public commitment, and reminds them of their choice to book).
Tip: Use the “progress endowment” phenomenon (whereby people given a headstart towards a goal exhibit greater persistence trying to reach the goal) by pointing out progress being made to clients and customers.
Scarcity
“The feeling of being in competition for scarce resources has powerful motivating properties.” – Robert Cialdini
Research shows products and opportunities are seen to be more valuable as they become less available.
Take the “plane ahead of its time”, the now-retired supersonic jet Concorde. When it announced in 2003 it was finishing up (largely due to reduced demand), tickets sold out.
We also all remember Australia’s mad grab for toilet paper during the pandemic when stocks ran low.
Part of the scarcity principle is our innate need to avoid losses. Losses loom twice as large in our psyche compared with gains. When you ask a customer to change to your product, understand they deal with a fear of any losses arising from this change.
Tip: People are likely to take action to avoid losses. Instead of talking about the savings they’ll make with your product or service, talk about the losses they face if they don’t make the switch.
A.C.E. psychological triggers
Turns out we all have 3 psychological triggers that underpin these influence principles. Using the acronym A.C.E. they are:
- Accuracy - appeals to our motivation to do what seems to be the right thing
- Connection - appeals to our motivation to create and maintain a positive bond with others
- Ego - appeals to our motivation to make us feel good about ourselves
The Influence Equation
In addition to the principles and A.C.E. triggers, Steve's influence equation for influencing others is made up of 3 elements:
- Evidence (facts)
- Economics (finances)
- Emotions (feelings)
Steve says his influence equation works like a paint palette. You can add a bit more of one colour (element) and a bit less of another to achieve success in influencing others - depending on what you want to achieve.
So, before influencing someone at work, clearly define your target, consider the influence equation, and tailor your approach to the specific context.
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Steve Martin
Steve Martin is co-author of Messengers, Who We Listen to, Who We Don’t and Why, and the Royal Society nominated international bestseller ‘Yes! 60 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion’.
Steve Martin is co-author of Messengers, Who We Listen to, Who We Don’t and Why, and the Royal Society nominated international bestseller ‘Yes! 60 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion’. Steve’s books have sold over 1.5 million copies and been translated into 27 languages.
His work applying influence and persuasion science to business, organisational and public policy has been featured in the national and international press including the New York Times, BBC TV & Radio, The Times, MSNBC, Washington Post, Financial Times, Time magazine and The Harvard Business Review.
Steve is CEO of Influence at Work (UK), Faculty Director of Behavioural Science at Columbia Business School (Exec. Ed.) NY, and has guest lectured at Harvard, the London School of Economics and London Business School.
He is also Chair of the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists (GAABS).
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Social Proof
Social proof is activated by signals of:
· What people see others are doing.
· What people perceive others to be doing.
· What people see or perceive to be approved of.
Whenever possible show people how others like them have acted (especially in conditions of uncertainty). Use testimonials from those who most closely resemble your target customer.
Show that your product or services are popular, or part of a trend that's on the up.
A restaurant can lift sales of desserts by putting “This is our most popular dessert” on one choice. Sales of all desserts on the dessert menu lift by 18% if you highlight one is popular.
Tip: Social proof doesn't discriminate between good and bad behaviours. If you're a leader, don't say "We're always starting meetings late. Everybody is coming in late to meetings." This elevates lateness to the most popular option. Instead, point out and praise good behaviour.