Fraser on Influence (an ongoing experiment)

April 23rd, 2006

An article in the March issue of Esquire has inspired me to learn more about influence. I’m going to learn by doing a number of small experiments over the coming weeks and I’ll share my results and observations here.

In the Esquire article, titled “Influence: A Little Nudge”, the author, Tom Chiarella, provides some great observations. Mainly, I found it interesting that a gesture went further than a gift. Tom offers an explanation why: “The truth is, gifts are not the same as favors. While people respond to a gesture easily enough, nobody wants an obligation he or she doesn’t know how to answer.”

Influence tip number one (from the article): “when it comes to influence, perceived obligation is your best tool.”

Stay tuned for the results of some mini experiments. If you have any suggestions, please share

[bonus: the article reminded me of a hilarious magazine article I read a few years ago - so I went to google to try to track it down for you guys. Here it is: "The $20 Theory of the Universe". Who's the author? Why our friend from above, Tom Chiarella. (found via Ben's site)]

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James Wolowicz 3 years ago 1 point
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I too read the Esquire article with great interest. In fact I think there are three, now one on perceived obligation, one on using someones first name and a third on eye contact. I am looking for some more ideas to try on my own. A google serach to try to find some more yielded zero but perhaps I am using the wrong key words. If you have a list of these little experiments with descriptions or keywords that would help me find them, it would be very much appreciated. I tried an interesting one recently where I waved to people on the street while driving by or waved to them when I was walking the they were driving by. The results were very similar... most people did wave back and the exchange ended with a strange "do I know that guy"? look. Its been fun. No redeeming purpose or influence gained just a fun exercise to see what happens when you do something socially acceptable out of context. Thank you for your help. James

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