Influence People, LLC

10/08/2026

𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝘀𝘂𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Dr. Robert Cialdini popularized the word “pre-suasion,” a play on "persuasion," about a decade ago.

According to Cialdini, “Pre-suasion is arranging for an audience to be receptive to your message before you deliver it.”

I simplify it to this – Setting the Stage. What can you do to get someone in the optimal state mentally, emotionally, or physically?

At Influence Amplified I shared a simple way to bring pre-suasion into business coaching.

Check out the short clip to find out how to do this AND the methodology I used.

Now here’s the key… take what you learn and make it your own.

Another short from the Influence Amplified conference. This focuses...

10/06/2026

With 40 years of business in my rearview mirror (and much more life experience 🙂 ) something I can tell you with 100% certainty is this...

Much of your professional success and personal happiness depends on your ability to get others to say yes to you. Yes to...

💡 Your ideas,
💰 Your sales pitch,
🤔 You as a job candidate,
🎂 You as a marriage partner,
💹 And so much more!

And here's the thing, there's more than nine decades of research from social psychologists on ways to ethically influence people. So the question is...

Do you know what the science says? 🤷‍♂️

10/01/2026

I read Dale Carnegie’s ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ long before I came across Dr. Robert Cialdini's work.

People equate Carnegie’s work with Cialdini, which is understandable. However, there’s a big, and very significant, difference.

Carnegie was an astute observer of human behavior. He looked at successful people back in his day (1920s and 1930s), noticed the commonalities, and came up with 30 ideas to win friends and influence people.

Dr. Cialdini and other social scientists rely in empirical data gathered through rigorous research. That matters because it’s not guesswork or simply copying someone you see as successful.

If you take what the research shows, then ethically and correctly implement it, you will have more people saying yes to you more often.

The testament to Carnegie’s work is that so much has been validated by the research from social scientists. That’s a big reason you still find ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ on bookshelves more than 90 years after its publication.

09/30/2026

📣 Years ago, I heard a sermon about dealing with difficult people. We all have them in our lives—family members, neighbors, coworkers, or acquaintances we would rather avoid.

🤔 Then the pastor said something I have never forgotten: “When I talk about difficult people, remember—someone is thinking about you.” Yikes!It is easy to identify the people who make our lives difficult.

🤷‍♂️ It is much harder to imagine that we might be that person for someone else. That raises an important question: How do we love people we don’t like?

😳 C.S. Lewis wrestled with this in Mere Christianity. He acknowledged that there were people he didn’t particularly like, which made it difficult to understand how he could love them. Then he realized there was someone else he didn’t always like—himself.

Years ago, I heard a sermon about dealing with difficult people. We all have them in our lives—family members, neighbors, coworkers, or acquaintances we would rather avoid. Then the pastor said something I have never forgotten: “When I talk about difficult people, remember—someone is thinking ...

09/29/2026

🤔 I was asked a question by Noi Ha Nguyen about newness in my life for his Wisdom Project.

👓 Having a grandson has given me a new perspective on a very old world.

👶 Our grandson, Emmett, is still discovering everything. The sky, clouds, and the sun. Soon he will recognize holidays. He already knows Jane and me as Ma and Pa.

🧠 Things I’ve seen thousands of times, and too often take for granted, are completely new to his little brain. And something interesting is happening… his newness is becoming our newness.

🎄 Holidays take on new meaning and ordinary moments sometimes become extraordinary.

👀 Maybe one of the gifts children give us is the chance to see familiar things through fresh eyes.

🌎 The world hasn’t changed but we have because of him!

❓ What… or who…has helped you see something familiar with a renewed sense of appreciation?

Where we place our attention shapes the quality of our lives.In a ...

09/24/2026

Last week I had the opportunity to work with Liberty Mutual Insurance's Pacific Region salespeople in Las Vegas. Great group of people - long time insurance folks who were smart, inquisitive, and open to learning.

My old company, State Auto Insurance, was acquired by Liberty in 2021, so I have a vested interest in seeing them do well. After all, part of my retirement depends on their performance! 🙂

Before I left Vegas, I was gifted Liberty Biberty. Our grandson Emmett took to him right away. Anything that brings out that smile is much appreciated.

09/22/2026

More choices may sound like better customer service...
but sometimes, more is simply more.
➡️ More to compare.
➡️ More to question.
➡️ More chances to delay the decision altogether.

🏋‍♂️ When customers face too many options, choosing can feel like work.

🤔 That’s why smart salespeople don’t overwhelm people with every possible choice.

👂 They listen, narrow the field, and present a few options that best fit the customer’s needs.

👍 Limiting choices isn’t about taking away control. It’s about making the decision easier.

🙂 Sometimes the most helpful thing you can say is, “Based on what you’ve told me, these are the two options I’d consider.”

❓ Where have you seen fewer choices lead to better decisions?

09/22/2026

Look what arrived while I was away!

😊 I was very fortunate to see my good friend James Killian, Ph.D. last week in Las Vegas.

📕 And then I returned home and a signed copy of “Obsessed: Cultivating the Customer-Driven Leader” was waiting for me.

🙌🏻 Congratulations on the new book James!! I look forward to diving into it.

09/17/2026

And just like magic… I’m in Las Vegas today to work with Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Pacific Region distribution team.

It doesn’t matter how often I share Dr. Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence, it’s always fun and refreshing because most of the time it’s a first exposure for the audience.

I love to see the “aha moments” when they come to realize things such as:

- Liking is about liking the person you’re with, not trying to get them to like you.
- How much more it effective it is to ask instead of tell.
- How the simple reframe from gain to loss can make such a positive difference in people’s response.

It’s going to be a great day and when we’re finished, my wife and I will spend a long weekend in Vegas. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to tell you what happens because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. 😉

09/16/2026

𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿

🤔 Most of us understand the principle of reciprocity this way: When someone does something for us, we feel some obligation to give back.

🏋‍♂️ Obligation is a heavy word, it weighs on us, and that’s why reciprocity is such a powerful principle of influence. Give first, particularly when what you give is meaningful, customized, and unexpected, and people are more willing to help you in return. But there’s another side of reciprocity we don’t talk about nearly as much. Giving Changes the Giver.

🎁 I learned this years ago when my wife, Jane, turned 52. I wanted to give her something extra special for her birthday, so I came up with an idea I’d never heard of anyone doing: 52 gifts for her 52nd birthday. Rather than giving them all at once, I promised to give her one gift every week for an entire year...

Most of us understand the principle of reciprocity this way: When someone does something for us, we feel some obligation to give back. Obligation is a heavy word, it weighs on us, and that’s why reciprocity is such a powerful principle of influence. Give first, particularly when what you give is m...