Instant Influence: How to Get Anyone to do Anything in Less Than 7 Minutes by Pantalon Michael

Author:Pantalon, Michael
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2011-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

INFLUENCING “OUTSIDE THE BOX”

People in my workshops often ask me about how illogical, odd, or even “weird” the Instant Influence questions tend to sound. Believe it or not, that’s part of the point. Research suggests that when people are presented with illogical, odd, unrelated, or irrational material—in scientific terms, “meaning-threat” material—they tend to arrive at better solutions in less time. Apparently, we work harder, faster, and better if our natural motivation to make sense of things is stimulated before or during a problem-solving task.

In 2009, researchers Travis Proulx from the University of Southern California at Santa Barbara and Steven Heine from the University of British Columbia conducted a study in which forty college students were asked to solve a puzzle.1 Half the students were given an absurdist short story by Franz Kafka to read before the task; their work on the puzzle was significantly more accurate. On average, they did more than 60 percent better than the other students. Being prodded ahead of time to think “outside the box” was good for their problem-solving skills—and I think it might be good for yours, too.

Often, when we’re trying to solve a problem we rule out some possibilities prematurely or miss options that we forgot, didn’t notice, or didn’t take seriously. We get hung up on looking for immediate results, focusing on how to do something rather than on why we want to do it, or allowing temporary setbacks to prove to us that we’ll never be able to get what we want.

Instead, trust the process. Stop asking yourself, “Is this possible?” and start asking, “Why do I want this?” Shake things up by deliberately focusing on behavior that seems less realistic or even downright unworkable.

I once tried to help a colleague, a budding research scientist, get a job at another institution. She couldn’t seem to focus on the job search for positions that would have been appropriate for one with her credentials, so I suggested she motivate herself to try for a project manager’s job, which was technically out of her league. “Why might I want to look for a job at the project manager level?” was her Step 1, even though she knew she didn’t have the credentials to get that job.

Yet somehow, finding out how much she wanted something she knew she wasn’t qualified to pursue made her want the jobs that were appropriate, and her job search suddenly—and very successfully—took off. Asking irrational questions and considering illogical actions isn’t necessarily the best plan of action. But it can be a terrific way to stir things up a little and to find the motivation that you need.

A colleague who had gotten divorced about a year before was having trouble motivating himself to date again. He had even tried using Instant Influence but felt that it hadn’t really broken through his frustrations with the dating scene.

I suggested that he, too, try a somewhat irrational approach. Perhaps his Step 1 might be, “Why might I write out a description of my

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