Are you working in an organization where leaders are adept at influencing others? Do the leaders in your organization know the triggers that inform your decisions while attempting to influencing others?
One of the most powerful questions one can ask oneself is “Can I sense the triggers that will guide me in effectively influencing someone?” Emotionally intelligent leaders influence others by picking up on the right triggers that automatically influence people.
Are you good at influencing people? Do you focus on appealing to people’s emotions before logic and reason? Are you helping people achieve goals by influencing your people in the right direction?
Seven Super Triggers
These triggers help us quickly sense and feel the best decision or action to take. They allow us to navigate paths that would be overwhelming and unmanageable if we had to constantly employ cognitive thought.
Most of us, especially marketing people, understand the trigger of benefits. Appeal to what people want, and talk to them in terms of solving a problem or filling a need. This is part of the hope trigger. But it’s only one limited approach. You can improve your chances of persuasion success by using more than one trigger.
Let’s examine the seven triggers that automatically influence others.
1. The Friendship Trigger
We are more easily influenced by people we like, and liking is a prerequisite for the other triggers. Friendship generates trust, and trust activates a strong internal trigger. This is the basis of the marketing axiom “people buy from people they know, like and trust.” The best way to activate friendship is through similarity. Find connections and common interests, and listen to the people you wish to influence.
2. The Authority Trigger
We respond with unthinking, automatic compliance to those we believe have authority, credibility and power. Managers and leaders may think they have authority by virtue of their position, but without the likeability factor, this trigger is weakened. The authority trigger works because we assume the person in position of authority has done the evaluation work for us.
3. The Consistency Trigger
Our internal guidance system compels us to be consistent in the way we see ourselves and the peers we admire. We are slaves to consistency and conformity; in fact, these drives are hard-wired into our brain, governed by the amygdala. The research is clear: Decisions are emotion based. When it’s time to make a decision, we call up an emotional memory that’s similar to the situation at hand, and we’re guided in the same direction.
4. The Reciprocity Trigger
One of the strongest, most universal internal triggers is the law of giving and receiving, or quid pro quo. Reciprocity is the well-documented psychological desire to give back to someone who has given us a gift. It’s another automatic response hard-wired into our brains. Marketers have been using bonus gifts and free samples for years.
5. The Contrast Trigger
Framing a proposition so it appears more desirable than an alternative is a proven automatic compliance technique. How you frame the proposal is critical: Always present the most onerous approach first, followed by what you really want.
6. The Reason Why Trigger
The brain looks for shortcuts to doing mental work. When you present a valid reason to accept a proposition, you achieve compliance. This concept has been successfully applied in myriad situations, and we know it works because we’ve seen the neural networks in the brain’s decision-making process. The amygdala seems to accept any valid reason and doesn’t bother to send the information to the cerebral cortex. When you provide a reason, you persuade successfully.
7. The Hope Trigger
Hope motivates all human activity. We are easily persuaded by those who understand our hopes, wishes and dreams. This is one of the strongest persuaders, underlying all others. We hope our decisions and actions will somehow improve our lives and status, helping us to become more successful and happy. Once we perceive an opportunity to satisfy our hopes, we seldom rely on rational, cognitive thought or logic before we act.
The constant desire for happiness is the foundation for the omnipotent hope trigger. Among the best examples are get-rich-quick scams, gambling and lotteries. The vitamin and cosmetic industries thrive because of the strong hopes and desires their marketing messages trigger. Not a shred of logic or reason is employed in weighing the odds.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a transformational leader who persuades people by appealing to emotion before logic and reason. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
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