Entries by Brian Ahearn, CMCT®

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 […]

James Bond needs no introduction, but you do!

I read an article not too long ago that a friend passed along and felt compelled to share my thoughts about it. The article appeared in Forbes.com and was titled “Why Public Speakers Need To Copy James Bond.” That’s a compelling title for Bond fans and speakers alike – of which I’m both – so […]

The Pain of Regret And What You Can Do About It

Last week, the world lost one of its best-known comedians when Robin Williams ended his life after struggling for years with severe depression. Williams was beyond famous; he was beloved. We lose famous people all the time, but I cannot recall seeing such an outpouring of gratitude, sympathy, and a sense of loss on social […]

Influence PEOPLE – A New Video

This week is a short post to share a new video I recently put online. The clips are from a keynote presentation I gave this past May in Cleveland, Ohio. The event was the annual I-Day Convention sponsored by the Insurance Board of Northern Ohio (IBNO). I hope you enjoy it. If you’re getting this post […]

No Battle Plan Survives Contact With The Enemy

There’s a saying in the military that’s attributed to Helmuth von Moltke, a German Field Marshall in the 1800s – “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” Why plan for battle then? The late Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame head football coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was known for scripting out the […]