Learning to Persuade

Have you ever questioned the card in your hotel bathroom that asks you to reuse your towels? After taking Professor Vladas Griskevicius’ Persuasion and Influence course (to the right), I learned to question the reasons why we say yes. The course provided insight to become more influential in your professional and personal life by applying principles from Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, with whom Professor Vlad had previously studied under for his doctorate degree. It was a structured as a condensed course, which meant three 8-hour class sessions rather than a seven-week evening course.

Professor Vlad was very engaging and it was particularly interesting to hear about his research on persuasion and social influence. We also had multiple group discussions to reflect on the influence principles of our lives, and it was enjoyable to share experiences with classmates. Most of realized how our society and our relationships have persuaded us to act differently or agree to something we may not have without the influential principle. For homework, we were expected to write our own analysis on the 6 principles of influence and relate them to our experiences on whether or not the influence was appropriately applied. We also did a case analysis to advise a sales manager to increase client retention and attract new clients by appropriately applying the influence principles. I enjoyed reflecting on my own experiences to further understand the influence principles and look forward to becoming more persuasive in my career.