Welcome to the latest in a series of brief interviews with guest experts from KnowledgeBrief’s Innovation Programme, providing a window into the experts’ latest ideas and new advice for executives.
Following the Innovation Day in May, Helen Mankin (HM), Senior Behavioural Science Consultant at Influence at Work, gave us an interview to discuss her latest insights on the application of persuasion science in business.
KB: What’s the key business challenge that organisations need to address, that your research tackles?
HM: There really are very few business challenges that don’t, at their core, involve people and their actions, decisions and behaviours. Whether it’s influencing customers, colleagues or clients, a solid and well-informed understanding of true human behaviour is increasingly becoming the foundation for a successful and future-proofed approach to business. Add to that the fact that in today’s increasingly online, information-overloaded world, the ability to command attention and change behaviour is more challenging than ever. Behavioural science, and more specifically persuasion science, provides a rich evidence-base that shines a light on the most effective ways to inspire long-term behavioural change.
KB: What advice would you give to executives, based on your findings?
HM: Rarely do people consider all of the information available to them in a given moment to guide their thinking. The reality is that people use shortcuts or rules of thumb to guide their decision-making. Our own research has identified six of these shortcuts as universals that guide human behaviour: Liking, Reciprocity, Authority, Social Proof, Consistency and Scarcity. Understanding these motivations allows us to craft our delivery and content of communications and requests in ways that go with the grain of human behaviour - significantly increasing the chances that your requests will be successful.
KB: How does your latest research approach this? What do the results indicate?
HM: The six principles offer up a wealth of knowledge and advice for executives, and I would implore anyone reading to explore them in greater detail if they are unfamiliar with them. But in this instance, I will focus on just two prescient bits of advice.
With coronavirus taking many of our working lives online, commitment and motivation are challenges that keep cropping up. The principle of Consistency tells us that people are motivated to live up to their previous commitments and actions. As such, by providing or highlighting some type of advancement toward a goal or project – even if that is something small, such as a previous kick-off meeting or proposal, people will be more motivated to keep going and complete it. This might be particularly important for getting projects that might have been put on hold fired up again.
And as we might feel as though we are becoming less connected with our teams, now is a great time to be asking yourself ‘who can I help?’ rather than ‘who can help me?’. The principle of Reciprocity is all about being the first to give – whether that be helpful information, assistance or a kind word. Generosity, sharing and a willingness to give back can do much to improve not only working relationships, but also create a favourable climate for productive exchange within an organisation – meaning your requests of others will be more likely to be accepted when the time comes.
KB: What did you learn or take away from meeting with the executives at the KnowledgeBrief Innovation Day?
HM: Excitingly, there is an increasing awareness and appetite for the application of behavioural research in organisations, and often those engaging in the behavioural science literature look to marketing-based, consumer-focused applications of the science first. However, there is a huge opportunity to take these learnings back to our organisations and foster more collaborative, motivated and engaged working practices – especially in the age of coronavirus.
With thanks to Helen Mankin, Senior Behavioural Science Consultant at Influence at Work.