Entries by Brian Ahearn, CMCT®

Win or Lose, You Can Do Better!

A few months ago I had the pleasure of addressing nearly three dozen lawyers. I know some of you are thinking “pleasure” and “lawyers” don’t always go hand in hand. However, in this case it really was a pleasure because the topic was a one-hour overview of influence for legal professionals. It was my first […]

Bribes, Rewards or Gifts – Which is Best?

One Saturday morning, after a run and workout, I looked forward to a bagel and an egg over easy for breakfast. As I settled in with my meal and flipped through the news channels, something on the news caught my eye. It was a story on parenting. One mom talked about “bribing” her kids. She told her teenage daughter she’d […]

Make Requests Like a Persuasion Expert

Persuasion is all about moving people to action. Aristotle defined it as “the art of getting someone to do something they would not ordinarily do if you didn’t ask.” The bottom line when  it comes to persuasion is getting someone to do something. How we communicate can make all the difference between a “Yes” or […]

Is Rock ‘n Roll Dead or Just More Great Artists?

A friend shared a Rolling Stones article on Facebook not long ago by the former lead singer of KISS, Gene Simmons. The article was titled, Rock is Finally Dead. It was Murdered. In one section Simmons laments, “Where’s the next Bob Dylan? Where’s the next Beatles? Where are the songwriters? Where are the creators?” He goes on to […]

Look for the Best in Others and Change Your Experience

“You only love me because you make yourself think good thoughts about me,” Jane said one day while in a blue mood. I don’t recall everything surrounding that particular conversation but I never forgot her statement. I replied, “Is that so bad?” We all experience love differently. We meet someone and “fall in love” but for […]

The Scoop on Ice Cream and Persuasion

I’ve traveled a lot this year and have a lot more trips coming up. If my travel schedule plays out, I’ll have been on the road half of the weeks this year and spent at least 50 nights in hotels. Think about that – 10 weeks away from my family! Some days have entailed hitting […]

Choose Your Words Carefully Because They Matter

This summer was a whirlwind! After an unusually heavy amount of travel in the first half of the year. I was looking forward to no airports or hotels until I began making the rounds for fall sales training. All of that changed when I made it known to the head of State Auto’s claims division […]

The 7 Most Common Persuasion Mistakes

When I work with students in the Principles of Persuasion workshop we talk about three kinds of persuasion practitioners: bunglers, smugglers and detectives. Here’s a quick synopsis of each: Detectives are folks who understand the principles of influence and look for genuine opportunities to use them in order to create a win for themselves as well […]