Navigating the High Seas of Behavior Change

Bringing about change doesn’t have to be as hard as we sometimes make it, if we become good sailors and learn the right influence skills. 

Robert Cialdini, affectionately known to many as the Godfather of influence, can be your ship captain to help you navigate the high seas, making your influence attempts more successful more often. 

If you’ve followed me for more than five minutes, then you know my association with the good doctor goes back decades. In fact, I recently celebrated my 16th anniversary as a Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT). More recently I’ve become a faculty member at the prestigious Cialdini Institute.

The Cialdini Institute has opened new opportunities for people who want to go further on their influence journey because they can now learn directly from Dr. Cialdini. 

The EPOP is the online version of his Principles of Persuasion Workshop. That workshop was previously limited to select individuals a couple of times a year in Arizona and for the fortunate few who brought a CMCT into their organization for training.

Why should you consider the EPOP? Most importantly, the ability to ethically influence people is critical for your professional success and personal happiness.

There are four things that differentiate The Cialdini Institute approach from other sales, leadership, and influence training options. Those differentiators are encapsulated in the word “SEAS,” an acronym for Science, Ethics, Application, and Small Bigs.

Science

Everything you’ll learn in the EPOP about how to influence people is rooted in science. With more than nine decades of research into what causes people to say yes, there’s plenty of peer research to learn from.

Ethics

Nobody wants to be manipulated and I know you’re not looking to become a manipulator. We live in a time when information travels faster than ever and people share negative information much more than they pass along positive experience. That means you cannot afford to put your reputation on the line by treating people unethically. The good news is, you don’t need to resort to manipulative tricks to influence people. We focus on non-manipulated ways to bring about change. 

Application

I often tell audiences, “It’s not the knowing that counts, it’s the doing. Wisdom is the application of knowledge.” You won’t just learn the science; you’ll learn practical ways to put your new knowledge into practice immediately so you can enjoy more success and happiness.

Small Bigs

What we teach at the Cialdini Institute doesn’t require you to reinvent your sales process, leadership approach, or marketing materials. That’s because small changes to what you’re already doing can lead to big differences when you begin to apply the principles of influence.

What’s Holding You Back?

Influence is a skill we use every day, from womb to tomb. From the moment we come into the world until the day we depart, we’re trying to influence others to get our needs met. That’s why understanding how to ethically influence people will help you enjoy more processional success and personal happiness.

So, what’s holding you back from upping your influence skills? For details on the offerings at The Cialdini Institute and how they can help you, reach out to me directly. 

Edited with ChatGPT

Brian Ahearn

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE and a faculty member at the Cialdini Institute. An author, TEDx presenter, international speaker, coach, and consultant, Brian helps clients apply influence in everyday situations to boost results.

As one of only a dozen Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, Brian was personally trained and endorsed by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by Book Authority. Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents was an Amazon new release bestseller. His latest book, The Influencer, is a business parable designed to teach you how to use influence in everyday situations.

Brian’s LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by over 700,000 people around the world and his TEDx Talk on pre-suasion has more than a million views!