The 7 Fundamentals of Human Behavior - Ideas At Work

The 7 Fundamentals of Human Behavior

By: Bob Picha

These are the principles of human behavior that have been validated over the forty years of my work profiling thousands of people in the fields of motivation, persuasion, and productivity.

1. ALL PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED.

It may not seem that way to teachers, parents, or managers because of what they experience on a daily basis, but it’s true. Students may not be motivated to be in a particular class… kids may not be motivated to do what their parents say they should be doing… employees may be just one step behind their managers… but they are all motivated to be doing something. I have yet to meet anyone who isn’t or hasn’t been excited about something.

2. YOU CAN’T, I CAN’T, WE CAN’T MOTIVATE ANOTHER PERSON. WHAT WE CAN DO… IS CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN BE SELF-MOTIVATED.

This means we can find out what excites them… really interests them… and allow them to do it. Motivation is nothing more than having a motive for an action (motive/action)… a reason for doing what we want to do. All we have to do is find it for that other person, and encourage it to happen. Once motivation builds to the level of enthusiasm, it is contagious.

3.PEOPLE DO THINGS FOR THEIR REASONS… NOT YOURS.

This may seem obvious, but most people ignore this concept when they deal with people of all ages. It is possible to get people to do what you want them to do, even if their reasons for doing it are different than yours … providing they have reasons to do it. So the question is “why” would they do what you want them to do… because THEY want to do it. If it is their “why”, the potential for getting it done increases dramatically. This is the reason “why know why” is essential to moving people and their minds.

4. IN DEALING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, OR A TASK, USE YOUR YOUR STRENGTHS… BUT REMEMBER, AN OVER-EXTENSION OF A STRENGTH MAY BECOME A WEAKNESS.

For example, you may be decisive, but an overuse of this behavior may cause you to be impulsive. This can effect the quality of your decisions. The strength of people with high dominance is that they MAKE DECISIONS QUICKLY, but people of action often move without thinking of the consequences.

The other extreme are people who are driven by high compliance, are concerned about details and correctness, and may dwell on these issues to the point of NO ACTION.

The fundamental here is to use your strengths for motivation, but control them for effectiveness.

5. YOU CAN NOT… NOT COMMUNICATE… OR… MAKE AN IMPRESSION ON ANOTHER PERSON IN CONTACT WITH YOU.

From walking through a crowd, to talking to a group, or being involved with one-on-one discussions, every thing about you is communicating or making an impression on others. This includes verbal (telephone or voice-mail), and even written communication.

These impressions can be be negative, neutral or passive, or positive and favorable. These impressions can be controlled if you are aware of them. It has been said that the most favorable impression you can make on another person is to be a good listener. Listening is communicating the importance of the other person in your eyes. An extension of this concept of favorable impressions, is to be genuinely interested in what the other person is saying.

6. IF I KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU KNOW ABOUT ME, I CAN… IF I CHOOSE… CONTROL OUR COMMUNICATION.

In the age of influence and persuasion, the concept of controlling the communication or dialog with other people has reached the level of obsession. If I have the natural or learned ability to read people… what activates and drives their behavior… I can shape our communication in a favorable way.

Today there are tools and techniques available to the masses to help understand yourself and others. To facilitate open and two-way communication, understanding the differences that drive behavior is necessary and achievable.

7. IF I UNDERSTAND YOU BETTER THAN YOU UNDERSTAND YOURSELF… I CAN… IF I CHOOSE… CONTROL YOU.

This principle is responsible for stretching the psychology of persuasion and influence into the realm of manipulation and control. If I truly know what drives your behavior… your wants, your needs, and your fears, I can, as proven for generations, control your behavior.

At the least, I can attempt to control what you buy in our consumption- based society… to actually controlling destructive versus constructive behavior.

The imperative today is to really understand what drives your behavior. Fortunately, the tools and techniques for self assessment and validation are accessible to every individual. The language of behavior is common to all cultures.

 

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