Entries by Brian Ahearn, CMCT®

Just Because Something Doesn’t Grab You by the Grey Matter Doesn’t Mean It Doesn’t Matter

Because I spend so much time studying and teaching persuasion certain things catch my attention more than the average person. But, just because something doesn’t grab you by the grey matter doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. What I’m saying is this; even when something doesn’t register in your conscious, if it hits your subconscious it […]

Why is it so hard to…

Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to…do certain things and not do others? It’s a good bet that a lot has to do with psychology and conditioning. Your rational brain might be telling you one thing but something deep inside is prompting you in another direction. For example, why is it so hard […]

What We Believe Affects How We See Reality

Over the past month one of the best coaches in college football, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, has been in the news regarding allegations of what he knew and didn’t know about domestic abuse from one of his former coaches. Although I’m a big Ohio State fan I’ve not followed the story so closely as to […]

10 Observations from the Other Side of the Pond

 On August 2nd Jane and I left for a trip to Scotland and Ireland. It was to celebrate our 30thwedding anniversary and we were gone for nearly three weeks. If you’ve been reading Influence PEOPLE regularly then you know this led to a short hiatus from my blog writing so we could focus on each other […]

Taking a Short Break

This “post” is to inform you that I’m taking a short break from writing. It will be the first time in nearly 10 years that I’ve not put a new article online each week but there’s a good reason. Jane and I are visiting Scotland and Ireland for three weeks to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary! While […]

Improv Comedy Might be the Key that Unlocks Your Potential

Improv comedy might be the key that unlocks your potential. That’s a bold statement but I truly believe it because there are so many skills you learn with improv that translate into every area of life. This idea was reinforce when I meet Kelly Leonard at the Chief Learning Officer Symposium in the spring. Kelly has been […]

Perhaps the Most Persuasive Advertisement Ever

Ernest Shackleton might not be a familiar name because his famous expedition to Antarctica took place more than 100 years ago. In one sense it ended in failure but viewed from a different lens it was one of the greatest human achievements ever. To entice men to join him he used perhaps the most persuasive advertisement […]

Selfishness and Love are Diametrically Opposed

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with someone about relationships. As the conversation progressed I told this person they were selfish and that selfishness was the exact opposite of love. Telling someone their actions are selfish can turn them off and immediately shut them down to whatever comes next so I approached the […]

Influence is all about PEOPLE

When I speak to groups I always emphasize this point early on – Influence is all about PEOPLE. I say that because we can’t persuade things. I’ve been teaching influence for 15 years and realize no matter how good I am at this skill I cannot talk my lawn mower into cutting the grass on […]

Remembering and Honoring Tracy Austin

One year ago this week my friend Tracy Austin passed away from pancreatic cancer. Shortly before his death I posted a tribute to him. To mark the anniversary of his passing I want to share that tribute again. Tracy was a wonderful human being who is missed by many every single day. I still take heart […]