Planning to influence—worksheet
Rather than trying to persuade an
audience by developing a logical
argument alone, to truly influence,
you will need to appeal to the six
human responses as outlined by
Robert Cialdini in his book
Influence (2001).
This worksheet follows Cialdini’s
six principles to provide you with
some reflection questions that will
help you plan your influence
campaign.
Use the following questions to check whether you have a suitable plan to address each of the six
responses.
Liking: People like those who like them
How will I get to know my group to learn our areas of similarity?
Outline situations and events that you can use to actively listen to what is important to each individual
and to seek out commonalities.
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
Reciprocity: People repay in kind
What will I do to increase the sense of reciprocity?
Do you need to offer to help out more? Do you need to be more
explicit that your favours are expected to be returned?
Social proof: People follow the lead of similar others
Who are the people in the group who will lead the others to a decision? How
can I connect with them to influence them effectively?
Do you already have a relationship with these people or do you need to take
some time to strengthen your relationships?
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
Commitment and consistency: People align with their clear
commitments
How will I get people to commit to a decision?
Do you need to initially role model putting commitments into writing?
Authority: People defer to experts
Is my expertise and experience recognised by this group? What will I do to promote
myself?
Choose situations and methods of self-promotion that will feel comfortable and
natural for you?
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
Scarcity: People want more of what they can
have less of
What is there about the initiative that is exclusive or unique? What will people miss out on if they don’t
participate in it? How will I communicate this to them?
Take a few moments to go back through your reflections and written comments and check to see
whether you have more skills in, or need to pay more attention to, one particular area of influence.
On the chart below, rank the six human responses that you can appeal to for influence. Which one do
you appeal to most often? Rank that response as a 6 and continue to order the responses down to
the one that gets the least attention and mark that as a 1.
Liking: People like those who like them
○
Reciprocity: People repay in kind
○
Social proof: People follow the lead of similar others
○
Commitment and consistency: People align with their clear commitments
○
Authority: People defer to experts
○
Scarcity: People want more of what they can have less of
○
Revisit your reflections as you complete the worksheet and make a plan (over the page) to develop
your skills and plan for opportunities to increase your ability to appeal to those responses that you
marked lowest.
Remember that influence is a process and not a one-off event. If you aren’t successful the first time
around, take note of the feedback, do some more influencing and try again.
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
I will increase my use of (human response)
○ ○
I will increase my skills in appealing to this
human response Yes No
○ ○
I will increase opportunities to appeal to
this human response Yes No
My specific goal is
It is measured by
It is achievable because
It is realistic because
The time frame I have allocated is
My plan is
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
I will increase my use of (human response)
○ ○
I will increase my skills in appealing to this
human response Yes No
○ ○
I will increase opportunities to appeal to
this human response Yes No
My specific goal is
It is measured by
It is achievable because
It is realistic because
The time frame I have allocated is
My plan is
Cialdini, R. B. (2001, October n.d.). Harnessing the science of persuasion. Harvard Business Review,
pp. 72- 79.
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The wisdom of teams. Boston: Harvard Business School
Press.
This is a component of the Influence without authority Toolkit
© 2016 Leadership Development Centre
