Earlier this year we presented the Issue award for the tenth time. The Issue Award was created in 2010 by De Issuemakers to reward an organization or person that has managed to get a subject on the social and political agenda in a striking, unconventional way. And because behavioral change plays an important role in this, it is of course only logical that Reint Jan Renes has been on the jury of the Issue award for a few years and has presented it to program maker Tim Hofman this year.

But what actually drives Reint Jan Renes, lecturer at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and how does he connect
influencing behavior and communicating with each other? A great opportunity to find out was a Logeion lecture he recently gave; learn from Cialdini. And actually it was learning from Rein Jan Renes. In a packed room in the Muntgebouw in Utrecht, a broad representation of the profession was present; communications advisors from both profit and non-profit institutions, independent advisors and also colleagues from related fields.

Using various appealing examples (the current Ajax versus the Dutch national team from 1994 with the famous cable, the recent ProRail campaign that caused quite a stir, to name just a few), Reint Jan quickly took us through the six principles the book “Influence, the psychology of persuasion” by Cialdini, which was published in 1984 and has lost little of its topicality and expressiveness: reciprocity - sympathy - social proof - authority - shame and consistency. Six principles that have an interface with the communications profession and are also of great importance in issue management. Principles that can be used at different times and in different ways, thus forming an interesting core motive model of social influence.

And to these six principles Cialdini recently added a seventh; unity, or the unique influence that social ties and personal relationships have on encouraging consent, centering on the power and value of kinship. Just think of the feeling of solidarity that arose when Ajax successfully traveled through Europe in recent weeks. Tangible, recognizable examples and a theory that was explained in a compelling way. Learning from Cialdini and Reint Jan Renes is a good investment.