Innovate to Motivate® is the first conference of its kind to integrate the science of influence into our PAC and grassroots curriculum. We’re gratified that others are copying us, but we were the first, and are always raising the bar. We believe that influence is a science, not an art, and thus, anyone can learn the principles of influence and become more persuasive. (When it’s referred to it as an “art” that infers that you have to have some kind of special personality or charisma to be influential. That’s wrong.)

My colleague, Dr. Kelton Rhoades, is a perennial I2M favorite. Kelton is Director of Working Psychology and an adjunct Professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communications. You can learn more about Dr. Rhoads here: www.workingpsychology.com and at http://www.showaltergroup.com/about-us/our-team.php.

Any government relations professional who has been in the business more than two days knows that anecdotes help convey your message to elected officials, advocates and potential PAC prospects. But, if everybody is doing it, why do some stories stick and others don’t?

Dr. Rhoads has done much research about the power of narrative and has shared that with I2M audiences in the past. Per our charter, we’re going to take it up a notch and talk about how to make your stories more persuasive than your opponents’ stories.

I asked Kelton about narrative and how it impacts persuasion.

Q: Why are stories persuasive?

A: Would you believe the psychologists are still scratching their heads over this one? One of the most compelling answers I’ve heard is that human brains are especially attuned to receiving information in story form, because it’s how we’ve been passing along information for uncountable years of human history.

Q: Most elected officials will admit that stories are helpful to understanding an issue. So if “everyone is doing it,” why don’t all stories get results?

A: I think the answer is in your question: everybody is doing it! But think of this: all movies are stories, competing for our entertainment budget. Why aren’t all movies blockbusters? Quality and resonance of story is as important as receptiveness of the audience.

Q: Are there any ways stories can be misused in PAC fundraising, lobbying and grassroots advocacy?

A: I think one of the primary “abuses of story” is to tell a story to someone who’s not interested in hearing one. Have you ever gotten buttonholed by someone with a story that (a) was uninteresting or (b) made a point you didn’t agree with? So determining receptiveness is an important skill in persuasive storytelling. We’ll tell you how to do that at I2M!

Join us at Innovate to Motivate® 2010! Register online at www.innovatetomotivate.com.