56 The 6 principles of ethical persuasion (Cialdini models)

Robert Cialdini, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University, is a global guru of how to ethically influence and persuade.¹ Most of us know the principles and we practise them to some extent even if we have not ever heard of Pr. Cialdini.

First, please watch the short animation below. It will help you to have this list of the principles as you watch (below). You might also want to take notes as you go.

Before you start on the activity, here is a more serious set of insights than stories about mints and towels.

At QUT we have worked with George Kohlrieser who is a professor at IMD (a famous university in Switzerland). Pr. Kohlrieser is a former hostage negotiator and has many insights in his book, Hostage at the Table.² Pr. Kohlrieser shares his experiences on persuasion. He notes that in the life-threatening situations where he has applied some of these principles there is typically a great deal of fear and threat. He stresses the importance of credibility and honesty.

Take a moment to read that again. Think back to your work about reasoning and critical thinking, emotion and intention, HROs, noise and signals, small things and small wins and Why How What. The power of influence and persuasion in the moment of saving a life is about as intense as most of us could imagine.

Here we want you to think about less mission-critical episodes.

The examples you come up with are moments that are important moments in your life. This activity helps you to be aware of the opportunities in which that you have to use your skills to influence and persuade for the better. Every day in the Army you have an opportunity to do this.

Review each of the six shortcuts that Pr. Cialdini and Steve Martin explain in the short animation.

Make a list of an example of each of the short cuts in two ways:

1. in your personal life
2. in your work in the Army.

Now, explain why each of these examples was successful.

We want to be very clear that Pr. Cialdini is explicit that these principles must be applied in an ethical and transparent manner. Be sure you highlight this in your examples that this is the case.

1. Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and Practice (Vol. 5). Pearson Education.
2. Kohlrieser, G. (2006). Hostage at the table: How leaders can overcome conflict, influence others, and raise performance (Vol. 145). John Wiley & Sons.
3. Ibid, p. 171.