The media could not be loaded.
The most impactful book on influence I’ve ever read was Robert Cialdini’s "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" which was first published in 1984. In it, Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply his findings to everyday life.
Since it has been about a decade since I read Cialdinin’s book, I decided to go back to to refresh my knowledge. However, before I could do that, a friend introduced me to Brian Ahearn’s outstanding book "Influence People." The subtitle of Ahearn’s book is “Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical.” These words encapsulate nicely the relevancy of the book to anybody regardless of what they do for a living.
Ahearn is one of 20 individuals in the world who has earned a Cialdini Method Certified Trainer designation directly from Robert Cialdini. Ahearn’s passion and understanding of the science of influence comes through strongly on every page of his book which took me about three hours to read.
As an author of two books, I can attest to the quality of Ahearn’s work. His central points are well-documented and presented in a compelling way. The book flows nicely blending social science research with relevant anecdotes from Ahearn’s extensive experience in the corporate world. The book gave me a lot of specific ideas on how I could apply what I learned in Ahearn’s book to become more influential both at work and at home.
I look forward to returning to this book as a reference and highly recommend it to anybody looking to wield lasting and ethical influence in a powerful way.
