Influence Unlocked, Volume 2: Principles of Influence

Some time ago, I was having coffee with a colleague and our conversation turned to fitness, specifically the phenomenon called Orangetheory. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a fitness regimen focused on heart rate-based interval training. The idea is to spend a decent chunk of the class in the "Orange Zone,” which equates to 84–91 percent of your maximum heart rate. At the time, Orangetheory was relatively new, and she was an early adopter. Now, this is a person who has a degree in sports medicine and has run marathons. If she was recommending Orangetheory, it had to be good, right?

She also told me that you buy a plan with a certain number of classes per month and that there was an app where you could track all of your workouts. We finished our coffee and left a generous tip in the half-filled tip jar because the barista had given us a free muffin (not exactly what I should have been eating while talking about fitness, but I digress). The next week, I decided to try a class.

The first challenge I had was finding a time slot that worked in my schedule. Turns out, a LOT of people wanted to try Orangetheory—sometimes there were even waitlists for classes.But I made it in and decided pretty quickly to sign up, as they were running a limited-time deal.I’m still going to this day, perhaps not as religiously as my colleague, but it’s been a good addition to my life. Over time, they’ve done team challenges and charity initiatives, such as having a big box in the lobby to collect shoes for those who are not as lucky as we are to afford good sneakers. I even tried their “Transformation Challenge,” which tracked my body fat and muscle mass over eight weeks and ended up winning for most muscle gained! Of course, I put my prize money right back into more classes.

Before I go into any further detail, I would like to make it clear that I am not a salesperson for Orangetheory disguised as a talent development consultant. Rather, I shared that story to illustrate the seven principles of influence, according to Dr. Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University and president and CEO of Influence at Work. They are as follows:

• Reciprocity: People feel obligated to return favors or gifts. In my story, my colleague and I were influenced by the coffee shop to tip better since we had been “gifted” a muffin. And Orangetheory, by giving me a monetary prize for the Transformation Challenge, influenced me to use that money for more of their classes.

• Authority: People tend to follow the advice or recommendations of those perceived as experts or authorities. Note the importance of perception here. I think very highly of my colleague, given her background, and therefore trust that she had my best interests in mind, which led to me following her recommendation.

• Consistency: People tend to act in ways that are consistent with their past actions. Using an app that tracked my workouts and taking part in the Transformation Challenge were examples of that for me.

• Liking: Put simply, people are more likely to say “yes” to those they like. We tend to like people who are similar to us, who pay us compliments, or who cooperate with us toward mutual goals. In addition to believing my colleague to be credible, I also like her.

• Social Proof: People follow the lead of others, especially in uncertain situations. Couple of examples here. First, the half-full tip jar at the coffee shop—it’s possible the coffee shop owner put that money in herself, but the perception is that customers must really like this place since they’re tipping a lot, so we should too. Second, the classes with waitlists—I mean, those classes must be REALLY good if so many people want to take them that they’re essentially selling out. Lastly, the shoe box in the lobby—much like the tip jar, seeing all those pairs of shoes made me want to go find some of my own to donate.

• Scarcity: People want what they think they can’t have. The “limited-time deal” did it for me. I was influenced to sign up quickly, thinking that the deal would go away.

• Unity: People are more likely to do something if they see it as being part of a group or building a sense of community. For me, the classes themselves were a way to build community, as was the shoe drive, where it was clear that many of us cared about a specific need and were working together for a common purpose.

So, how can we use this as practitioners? Here are some ideas:

Let’s say you’re a manager trying to influence team members to step up and take on more work. If you give to them first—perhaps working extra hours to help them finish a project—the principle of Reciprocity will make it more likely that they will comply with your request.

If you’re seeking buy-in, see where you can inject Authority. Bringing in a vetted senior consultant or industry expert with years of experience to share their insights into the particular plan or initiative can help get people on board.

Want team members to stick to their goals? Ask them to write them down and then verbally share them in a team meeting. Once they have mentioned them in a more public forum, the principle of Consistency makes it more likely that they will achieve those goals.

Team members feel more motivated to support initiatives put forth by a leader or colleague who takes the time to learn about their interests and backgrounds, creating rapport and Liking.

Social Proof is found in teams where members look to one another for behavioral cues. Recognizing—or even better, implementing—a team member’s idea encourages others not only to get on board with that idea but also to submit their own creative ideas.

If you want to get people excited about tackling a new project, you can employ Scarcity to make it feel exclusive. Offering a high-profile opportunity to only a small group of employees can increase its perceived value and motivate people to apply.

Finally, you can create a sense of Unity using language like “We’re all in this together” or “Our team can make a difference.”

In the next installment, we’ll look at fostering connection and trust for influence.

Check out the previous post here.