3 Drivers That Increase Your Influence – Part 3
By: Steve Martin, CMCT Persuasion researchers have consistently demonstrated that the most successful strategies that influence the decisions and behaviors of others gain their persuasive strength by triggering one of just three simple human motivations: 1) The...
3 Drivers That Increase Your Influence – Part 2
By: Steve Martin, CMCT In last month’s post we claimed that, despite an abundance of strategies used to influence the decisions and behaviors of others, researchers have found that the most successful strategies gain their persuasive strength by triggering one or more...
So you THINK you know the best way to plan to reach your goals?
By Mr. Steve Martin Despite our best intentions, many of the goals we set for ourselves go unfulfilled. To improve our career prospects, we’ll research going to night school but not make it to class. We’ll purchase a health club membership, only to find our attendance...
3 Drivers That Increase Your Influence – Part 1
By: Steve Martin, CMCT In the recently published book THE SMALL BIG co-authored by Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein and myself, we make a bold claim. Despite there being hundreds, perhaps thousands, of individual persuasion strategies used across the workplace, nearly...
Pre-order The SMALL Big by Martin, Goldstein and Cialdini and enter for a chance to win an iPad Air
1. PreOrder The SMALL BIG here: http://www.thesmallbig.com 2. Upload a screenshot or picture of your preorder form here: http://woobox.com/8gdswj 3. You will then be entered into a random drawing where one person will win a new iPad Air! Share and Enjoy...
What Simple Change Can Affect Your Negotiations, Creativity and Even Dating Success?
By: Steve Martin, CMCT In 1979, noted psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Schauss conducted a series of studies designed to measure the mental and physical strength of one hundred and fifty young men. Arriving at the laboratory, each man was invited into a small room where one...
When will making the first offer help your negotiations, and when will it hurt?
By: Steve Martin, CMCT Recognizing the Chicago Bulls managing partner’s reputation as a ruthless negotiator, in 1996 Michael Jordan’s agent made a decision to ‘take the Bulls by the horns’ and table an audacious $52 million salary request. The parties settled at...
Should I tell you now, or should I tell you later?
By: Steve Martin, CMCT In the introduction of Influence, Robert Cialdini recounts the story of a friend who, in an attempt to sell off a consignment of slow moving turquoise jewelry, left a hand-written note for one of her sales staff to mark down the stock at...
Something for Nothing: Doing Nothing Can be a Potent Persuasion Tool
By Steve Martin For nearly seventy years scientists who study the persuasion process have consistently revealed a simple, yet remarkable truth; when it comes to effectively influencing others, small changes can make a big difference. Examples abound, from the subtle...
To be honest this isn’t our best ever blog post but, God bless it, it could still increase your online likeability and credibility. And your business too!
by Steve Martin Recent research has found that around 7 in 10 Americans will consult the online reviews of other consumers before making a purchase. I have to admit to being surprised by this. I would have guessed it would have been more. Numbers aside though,...
Three Reasons Why You Should Probably Ask!
By Steve Martin, CMCT Benjamin Franklin famously once attempted to win favor with a political adversary by writing him a letter requesting to borrow a rare and valuable book that he owned. A short time afterwards, Franklin reported that this usually stubborn,...
Free Webinar Jan. 23rd, 2014: Interview with Dr. Robert Cialdini
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Two Ways of Setting Goals…Which is More Likely to Lead to Success?
By: Steve Martin Are you one of the many people who start the New Year off with a list of resolutions? Does this list look remarkably similar to last year’s? Are you also one of the many people likely to break these resolutions before the end of January? Then I have...
Tipping Points – Five Lessons in Persuasion From Food Servers.
By Steve Martin, CMCT The humble restaurant has a number of features that make it a great place to better understand human decision making and study persuasion. Crowds of diners ensure that large numbers of homogeneous transactions take place. The menus, wine lists...
Two, Four or Six? When Persuading, What Numbers of Claims is Most Effective?
By Steve Martin, CMCT When it comes to influencing others, delivering the right number of messages to support your proposal or proposition is going to be crucial. Too few, and your attempt might come across as halfhearted, indifferent or plain weak. But too many...
Two Types of Proposals. Which One is More Persuasive?
By Steve Martin, CMCT Imagine that you are preparing a proposal for a client and, having researched all the information, equipment, materials and resources that you will need to deliver the job, the time has come to commit to paper the only piece of information your...
Are Human Decisions Eminently Rational, Hopelessly Irrational, or Neither? By: Dr. Robert Cialdini
There is an intellectual train speeding our way, carrying a revolutionary payload for those who want to truly understand how people make decisions. Douglas Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius are at the center of this scientific revolution, and their new book The Rational...
Building Co-Operation… Two Important Strategies
By Steve Martin, CMCT Business rarely pauses to take breath and when change happens it can often occur at lighting speed throwing up unexpected challenges. A sudden acquisition can mean that today’s competitor will be tomorrow’s colleague. A change in business model...
Why We Agree to and Achieve Goals
By: Steve Martin, CMCT Imagine you need to persuade an individual or a group of people to complete a task that will take time, multiple steps and actions in order to achieve it. Would you be more effective by taking a flexible approach and allowing them to choose the...Harvard Business Review Releases a New Interview on Influence
The Harvard Business Review just published a new interview with Dr. Robert Cialdini on his insights into the uses and abuses of influence by Sarah Cliffe, Executive Editor. For some new insight and uses click here. And please leave a comment to make your voice...Why Giving First Isn’t Enough and What You Can Do About It.
Inside Influence Report, June 2013 Steve Martin, CMCT. For regular worshipers attending Sunday prayers at St. John’s Church in the parish of Kirkheaton, a Yorkshire village in Northern England, the service on 18th November 2012 seemed like it would be pretty much like...
How to Move Forward by Stepping Back
By Steve Martin, CMCT Today’s increasingly complex business world can serve up some pretty challenging situations that even the most seasoned of us will find difficult to navigate through. Thankfully though, there’s often a colleague, co-worker or friend who...
