Entries by Brian Ahearn, CMCT®

If You Were My Son

Have you read Robert Cialdini’s new book Pre-suasion? If not, make sure you get your copy today because in addition to learning how to set the stage for persuasion, a strategy he refers to as “pre-suasion,” you’ll learn about a new 7th principle of influence. That’s right, a new principle is introduced in Pre-suasion. For […]

Last Impressions are Lasting Impressions

About 10 years ago Abigail and I were out shopping. I had a cast on my left hand because I’d broken a bone sparring at taekwondo. When we stopped at Best Buy, the young man at the register asked me what happened to my hand. We had an engaging conversation about my injury and his […]

If You Always Vote For The Same People…

Next month more than half of Americans will go to the polls to vote on various issues including the President of the United States. The rhetoric has heated up to unprecedented levels so now is a good time to look at a contentious political issue – term limits – through the lens of influence. When […]

“Fear has never created a single job or fed a single family.”

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada weighed in on our Presidential election when he recently addressed the United Nations. He told world leaders, “Fear has never created a single job or fed a single family.” His quote sounds good, very statesman-like, but unfortunately it’s completely incorrect. If you pause for just a moment and consider […]

Those Pesky Deadlines!

Don’t you just hate looming deadlines? Most people do because stress levels rise and quite often other things have to go by the wayside in an effort to complete the task with the deadline. I bet you just wish you could go without those pesky deadlines, especially those imposed by others, right? Actually, that might […]

Useful Tips for Reaching You Goals

In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi made the case that people are happiest when fully absorbed in tasks they find challenging and that give them opportunities for personal growth. He calls the state people experience at those moments “flow.” If that term is unfamiliar perhaps the terms athletes […]

When You Give, the Recipient isn’t Always Who You Think

As we explore ways you can leverage the principles of influence for your own self-improvement, we’ll consider giving and the principle of reciprocity this week. Reciprocity is the psychological term that tells us people feel obligated to give back to those who first give to them. The wise persuader looks to give “gifts” that are […]

Love the One You’re With

Last week I mentioned I would be writing a series of posts on how you can use the principles of persuasion to influence your own behavior for positive changes. Crosby, Stills and Nash have a famous song from the early ‘70s called “Love the One You’re With.” There’s a lot of wisdom in that little […]

Humans Think When Habit Won’t Do

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting through the Principles of Persuasion (POP) Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona once again. Even though I’ve taught this workshop more than 50 times it was a great refresher and exposed me to the new look, feel, and studies for the workshop upgrade. Greg Neidert, Ph.D., led this POP […]

Values, Voting and Other Decisions

I recently read Tony Robbins’ book, Unlimited Power, for the umpteenth time. Each time I reread it I have more respect for Tony’s deep understanding of the human mind and behavior. Despite not being a neuroscientist, social psychologist or behavioral economist, the insights he shares (the book was written 30 years ago) are spot on. […]