6.2 Influencing head, heart and hands

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The head – communicating logic and reason. The heart – communicate appealing to the emotions and sensibilities. The hands – communicate an opportunity to participate – to do, to join others.

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A simple way to think about influence is through a campaigning approach and thinking about how to appeal to head, heart and hands. Watch the video for a short overview.

When you appeal to a person’s head you engage their intellect – what they think.

When you appeal to a person’s heart you engage their emotions and their values – what they feel.

If you focus first and foremost on appealing to people’s values and feelings and then back this up with relevant facts and rational arguments, you are more likely to lead them to purposeful action, as reasoning is often influenced by values and emotions.

When you appeal to a person’s hands you appeal to their need or wish to take action and work with others – what they will do. Offering concrete things that they can do will also motivate them into action.

Head

Here you use communication based on logic and reason that makes sense to the person you are trying to influence. It means having facts, figures and examples based on evidence available to back up your case. You should be able to confidently present the argument and answer any questions in a way that is credible to the person you are trying to influence.

Remember though, you should be realistic and manage expectations, not over promising on the benefits in order to make your case credible. You should also listen carefully to objections as they may bring to the surface problems you had not thought of.

Some of the latest thinking and research in cognitive science and psychology argues that people have biases in their decision-making and that we are rarely persuaded by facts alone. The Princeton University psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, said: ‘No one ever made a decision because of a number. They needed a story.’

So, do not rely on fact and evidence alone. Do what you can to understand what motivates people and the values that will be driving their decision-making processes. This is part of appealing to the heart, outlined below.

Heart

Here you communicate in a way that appeals to people’s values, emotions and sensibilities, their feelings about themselves, their lives and their empathy for others. Values such as fairness, responsibility, care, loyalty, justice may be important – or their emotions such as love, fear, anger, excitement and hope. If the proposed change action and the way you communicate it matches their values and what they see as important then they will be much more likely to take action themselves or support what you are trying to achieve.

Telling stories about why you are campaigning for a change, the vision that motivates you, and what the benefits will be is an effective and compelling way to connect with people’s values and their emotions.

There will also be shared values across groups in any society. If you are reaching out to new audiences who are not your natural allies it can be helpful to consider what those shared values might be. As always, listening carefully before jumping to conclusions about what values are important to different people is key.

Songs, music and powerful images can also make that connection and contribute to a sense of group solidarity. The gospel songs of the US civil rights movement are an example of this. Communicating a sense of hope through highlighting the positive things your change action can achieve is also critical for presenting a compelling vision of the future and resonating with the other person’s values.

Hands

Here you communicate in a way that offers the person you want to influence the opportunity to take action on something they care about in a collaborative way with yourself and others and to see the difference that they can make. Working with others is a powerful way to win commitment to a change action.

As a changemaker you will want to consider how to include elements of all three approaches into your communication and messaging to move people to action. Where you put the emphasis will vary depending on your specific influencing strategies and targets.

There are some great examples of public speeches where individuals have been able to tell a story of change which connects head, heart and hands, and which shows purpose, motivation, and what can be done about it. Here are just two examples of storytelling in action. As you listen, think about the technique used to inform, motivate and inspire others.

Watch James Croft's public narrative [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] at Harvard.

Watch Koreti Mavaega Tiumalu speaking at Power Shift 2013.

There is no doubt that storytelling is a powerful skill to develop as a changemaker. However, there are also countless examples, past and present, of influential and powerful people and groups in society appealing to people’s emotions in a negative way. For instance, using messages that target people’s anxiety or fear of change or losing out to other more marginalised groups in society.

As a changemaker, acting with integrity and from positions that value diversity and the rights of all people needs to be at the core of your communication and engagement with others. As we have seen, it’s as much about how we achieve change, as what we achieve.