Is your super power influencing others? Want it to be?
As a communications professional, my ultimate goal is to influence the behavior of my target audience. My curiosity about how a person’s decisions are influenced was the main reason I got into PR in the first place! Many years ago as a freshman at Brigham Young University, I was thinking of becoming a lawyer, and I knew lawyers needed good writing skills. A friend recommended public relations as a major that was writing intensive. When I learned an important part of public relations was influencing audience behavior, I quickly forgot about law school. Understanding how to influence others was the super power I’d always coveted!
From a young age, I was genuinely curious about what shaped people’s opinions and choices. Why did they make such decisions? Was it past experiences, inherent preferences, a movie they saw? It’s no surprise that one of my favorite movie scenes was from “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” when Obi-Wan Kenobi used a Jedi mind trick to influence some unwitting storm troopers. We’ll have to forgive Obi-Wan for being deceitful since those were the droids the storm troopers were looking for. Even so, the idea that a career in public relations could teach me to ethically influence others’ actions on a large scale was irresistible!
Now, some 30 years later, I’m still curious about the same things. As I plan each communications campaign, my top question for clients is, “What do we want our target audience to think, say or do as a result of our communications?” This question is applicable not only to PR pros, but to every leader in every field every time they communicate! We’ve all been bored to tears during a video conference call led by people who are neither sure of their purpose nor what they want from you. Imagine if the communicator took the time to clearly define the behavior or action they wanted from listeners before the meeting? What if everything they shared in the meeting had to support their goal of influencing your behavior? Imagine the same thing for the following scenarios:
- Text message from your boss
- Performance reviews
- Keynote address at a trade conference
- Meeting a new contact at a networking event
- Connecting with a new contact via LinkedIn
- Job interview
I promise you, clearly defining the behavior you want before communicating will shorten any meeting. It might obviate the need for certain groups to even attend. It most certainly will increase the chance that listeners will perform the desired behavior.
Wondering whether you are a good communicator in these circumstances? You might ask yourself the following questions:
- Did I clearly describe the desired behavior?
- Did I invite the audience to perform the behavior?
- Did I make clear the rewards for doing it?
- Did I make clear the consequences of not doing it?
- Did I provide all the information necessary for the audience to act?
- What percentage of my listeners actually engaged in the requested behavior?
You also might evaluate yourself by doing these two things:
- Watch the recording of your latest video conference call to double-check your answers to the above questions as well as your overall performance.
- Consider asking a trusted colleague who is part of the call or meeting for their feedback per the above questions.
The feedback and learning you get from these exercises could be eye-opening. Don’t stress if the results aren’t what you want. Just make notes on the needed adjustments and review them as you prepare for your next video conference call, group email, interview, etc. Shifting your focus from simply communicating to attempting to influence behavior takes thoughtful effort and preparation. But over time, your communications will influence more behavior and take less of your listeners’ time. Good luck and may the force of good communications be with you, always!
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