Gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you need to persuade others

Humintell’s Tactical Social Influence course explores how to use various psychological techniques to discern points of views and detect nonverbal emotions, behaviors, and reactions in order to advocate, influence, and convince others. The course content related to social influence is based on six principles of persuasion and influence by Cialdini (Cialdini, 2009; Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). Participants will strategize and tactically apply the six principles of persuasion and influence in concrete, relevant scenarios as well as strategize and tactically apply strategic questioning techniques to facilitate effectiveness.  

The Humintell system is unique, however, in that we also leverage human emotions and emotional reactions in the process of influencing others. Emotions and emotional reactions can either facilitate or hinder individuals from effectiveness in influencing others; oftentimes emotions are one of the main reasons that prevent behavior change to occur. But when leveraged correctly, emotions can facilitate persuasion and influence, which in turns leads to better outcomes and performance. Through practice, participants will apply a range of self- and emotion regulation strategies in order to optimize performance and effectiveness  

Participants will learn of multiple principles, strategies, and tactics that can be universally applied to persuading and influencing others. In addition, participants will learn to understand other principles of persuasion and influence (e.g., rapport) and the power of questions. The objective of this course is to provide individuals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) they need to persuade individuals, whether within the U.S. or across cultures. 

Learning Objectives 

Participants in this course will  

  1. Study and practice a range of interpersonal persuasion techniques that have nothing to do with reasons or rationales 
  2. Discern verbal and nonverbal messages to determine others’ level of agreement and/or genuineness 
  3. Utilize own nonverbal communications to lead, mirror, or contradict others 
  4. Apply appropriate persuasion techniques to advocate, influence, and convince others 

Scientific Background 

All of the instructional content covered in this course is based in research published in scientific, peer-reviewed journals. The principles of persuasion and influence are adapted from the work by Cialdini and colleagues  (Cialdini, 2009; Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004; Cialdini et al., 1999; Wosinska et al., 2000), and from Humintell’s proprietary research examining the effectiveness of specific influence strategies and tactics in high-stakes situations (Hwang & Matsumoto, 2020; Matsumoto & Hwang, 2018, 2019). The analysis of nonverbal behavior has its roots in decades of published scientific studies documenting the ability of the face to display universality of facial expressions of emotion and signs of cognition (Ekman, 1979, 1993; Ekman & Friesen, 1969; Hwang & Matsumoto, 2016), and the meanings, classifications, and functions of different types of gestures (Cartmill & Goldin-Meadow, 2016; Goldin-Meadow & Beilock, 2010; Goldin-Meadow et al., 2001). 

Importantly, the format, methodology, and pedagogy of the course is based on sound educational principles and practices based in research, incorporating a continuous learning and experiential approach to training (Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Kolb, 2014; Kolb & Fry, 1974; Pickles & Greenway, 2007). The Humintell model of continuous learning builds upon the basic foundations outlined by Kolb and integrates other complementary perspectives such as those espoused by Greenway (Pickles & Greenway, 2007) and Argyris and Schon (Argyris & Schön, 1996; Argyris & Schon, 1974; Greenwood, 1993).  

Typical Length 

One (1) – Three (3) days.  

Topics Covered 

Exercise 1 

Because of the experiential nature of the course, the workshop will begin by having participants engage in a role play of a real-life scenario in which they typically persuade others in small groups. After participants have a chance to role play, they will analyze what they did – were they successful or not, why they think they obtained the outcome they did, what approach or strategy did they use, what did they specifically say or do? This experiential work will serve as a basis and comparison by which to apply the various techniques learned in the rest of the class.  

Introduction to Humintell Tactical Social Influence 

We will begin by discussing the fact that the typical way of persuading others is based on logic, reasoning, and rationales that are delivered to others via declarative statements. With that as a backdrop we will introduce the fact that most decision making is based on heuristics, not systematic deliberation, and that how we deliver messages is just as important as message content. That leads us to an understanding of the unconscious drivers of preference – the principles of persuasion and influence.  

Introduction to Principles of Persuasion and Influence 

In this section, participants will be introduced to six principles of persuasion and influence, along with assumptions underlying those principles. Emphasis will be placed on thinking through strategies and tactics that will allow participants to prime those principles in others’ minds indirectly, rather than or in addition to direct verbal statements.  

Practical Exercises 

A large portion of time will be allowed for participants to strategize and tactically apply the six principles of persuasion and influence in concrete, relevant scenarios as well as strategize and tactically apply strategic questioning techniques to facilitate effectiveness. Through practice, participants will apply a range of self- and emotion regulation strategies in order to optimize performance and effectiveness. Exercise will include a redo of Exercise 1 as well as a second and possibly third scenario.  

Introduction to World of NVC 

Depending on the length of the workshop, participants will also be exposed to the world of nonverbal communication, reading facial expressions of emotion, and identifying different gestures. These topics will allow participants to gauge their interlocutor’s unconscious reactions to acts of persuasion and influence in order for participants to be able to change strategies and tactics on the fly. Much of the information in this module comes from Humintell’s Tactical Interviewing: Behavioral Indicators workshop.  

Improving Personal Effectiveness 

An inability to deal constructively with one’s reactions in the heat of the moment is often a reason why social influence tactics become less effective. Depending on the length of the workshop, participants will gain knowledge and improve skills concerning their own emotional intelligence, with the goal of improving their emotion regulation skills in the moment. These skills will be tied back to influence strategies and tactics in the moment, helping improve participants’ effectiveness at influence tactics.  

References 

Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1996). Organizational learning II: Theory, method and practice. Addison-Wesley.  

Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. Jossey-Bass.  

Cartmill, E. A., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2016). Gesture. In D. Matsumoto, H. C. Hwang, & M. G. Frank (Eds.), APA handbook of nonverbal communication (pp. 307-333). American Psychological Association.  

Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence : science and practice (5th ed.). Pearson Education.  

Cialdini, R. B., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004). Social Influence: Compliance and Conformity. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 591-621. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142015  

Cialdini, R. B., Wosinska, W., Barrett, D. W., Butner, J., & Gornik-Durose, M. (1999). Compliance with a request in two cultures: The differential influence of social proof and commitment/consistency on collectivists and individualists. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(10), 1242-1253.  

Ekman, P. (1979). About brows: Emotional and conversational signals. In M. von Cranach, K. Foppa, W. Lepenies, & D. Ploog (Eds.), Human ethology. Cambridge University Press.  

Ekman, P. (1993). Facial expression and emotion. American Psychologist, 48(4), 384-392.  

Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, usage, and coding. Semiotica, 1, 49-98. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1969.1.1.49  

Goldin-Meadow, S., & Beilock, S. L. (2010). Action’s infuence on thought: The case of gesture. Psychological Science, 5(6), 664-674. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610388764  

Goldin-Meadow, S., Nusbaum, H., Kelly, S. D., & Wagner, S. (2001). Explaining math: Gesturing lightens the load. Psychological Science, 12(6), 516-522.  

Greenwood, J. (1993). Reflective practice: A critique of the work of Argyris and Schön. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18(8), 1183-1187.  

Hwang, H. C., & Matsumoto, D. (2016). Facial expressions. In D. Matsumoto, H. C. Hwang, & M. G. Frank (Eds.), APA Handbook of Nonverbal Communication (pp. 257-287). American Psychological Association.  

Hwang, H. C., & Matsumoto, D. (2020). The effects of liking on informational elements in investigative interviews. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 17, 280-295. https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1556  

Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of management learning & education, 4(2), 193-212.  

Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.  

Kolb, D. A., & Fry, R. E. (1974). Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. MIT Alfred P. Sloan School of Management.  

Matsumoto, D., & Hwang, H. C. (2018). Social influence in investigative interviews: The effects of reciprocity. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 32(2), 163-170. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3390  

Matsumoto, D., & Hwang, H. C. (2019). Social influence in investigative interviews: The effects of authority on informational elements produced in interviews and written statements. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33(4), 516-526. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3488  

Pickles, T., & Greenway, R. (2007). Experiential Learning articles and critiques of David Kolb’s Theory. disponibile presso: http://reviewing. co. uk/research/experiential. learning. htm.  

Wosinska, W., Cialdini, R. B., Barrett, D. W., & Reykowski, J. (2000). The practice of social influence in multiple cultures. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.  

For more information

Our workshops are only for groups and organizations. If you’re part of a larger group interested in training please email us at info@humintell.com.

If you’re just an individual looking for some training for yourself, we encourage you to view our recorded webinars that are available on Body Language here, and Behavioral Indicators here.