What common barriers to social influence should you avoid?
Social influence is the ability to change or affect someone else’s behavior, attitudes, or opinions through various methods, such as persuasion, compliance, conformity, or obedience. It is a valuable skill for interpersonal communication, leadership, negotiation, and collaboration. However, there are also some common barriers that can hinder your social influence and prevent you from achieving your goals. In this article, we will discuss what these barriers are and how you can avoid them.
Lack of credibility
One of the most important factors that affect your social influence is your credibility, which is the perception of your expertise, trustworthiness, and likability. If you lack credibility, people will not take your messages seriously, respect your authority, or follow your suggestions. To avoid this barrier, you need to establish your credibility by demonstrating your competence, showing your integrity, expressing your empathy, and building rapport with your audience.
Resistance to change
Another common barrier to social influence is resistance to change, which is the tendency to maintain the status quo, reject new ideas, or oppose different perspectives. Resistance to change can be caused by various factors, such as fear of uncertainty, loss of control, habit, or personal preference. To avoid this barrier, you need to understand the reasons behind the resistance, address the concerns and objections, provide incentives and benefits, and involve the stakeholders in the change process.
Social norms
A third common barrier to social influence is social norms, which are the unwritten rules or expectations that govern the behavior of a group or a society. Social norms can influence how people act, think, or feel in certain situations, and they can also create pressure to conform or comply with the majority. To avoid this barrier, you need to be aware of the social norms that affect your audience, challenge the assumptions and stereotypes, appeal to the values and beliefs, and create positive social proof.
Cognitive biases
A fourth common barrier to social influence is cognitive biases, which are the mental shortcuts or errors that affect how people process information, make decisions, or solve problems. Cognitive biases can distort your perception, judgment, or memory, and they can also interfere with your logic, reasoning, or evidence. To avoid this barrier, you need to recognize the common cognitive biases that affect your audience, such as confirmation bias, availability heuristic, or anchoring effect, and use strategies to overcome them, such as asking questions, providing alternatives, or reframing the situation.
Emotional reactions
A fifth common barrier to social influence is emotional reactions, which are the feelings or expressions that arise from a stimulus or an event. Emotional reactions can influence how people respond to your messages, arguments, or requests, and they can also affect your own mood, motivation, or confidence. To avoid this barrier, you need to manage your emotions and those of your audience, such as anger, fear, or frustration, and use techniques to regulate them, such as breathing, listening, or reframing.
Communication styles
A sixth common barrier to social influence is communication styles, which are the preferences or patterns that affect how people communicate verbally or nonverbally. Communication styles can influence how people interpret, understand, or relate to your messages, and they can also create misunderstandings, conflicts, or miscommunication. To avoid this barrier, you need to adapt your communication style to your audience, such as assertive, passive, or aggressive, and use skills to improve your communication, such as clarity, feedback, or empathy.
Working on the humans that grow your business | High-performance Human Behavior training – I teach corporations & employees how to hack into humans using Behavior & Persuasion | AI – Language & Behavior Prompt Engineer