Influence is Your Superpower summary

Influencing what people think begins with understanding how people think. And there’s a good chance you’re thinking about thinking all wrong. Ready for a bit of cognitive science?

There are two basic modes of thought processing. Researchers have labeled these modes System 1 and System 2 but, because that’s not very catchy, we’re going to call them something else.

We’ll call System 1 the Gator Brain. Alligators can weigh up to 999 pound. But the average gator’s brain is the size of a half tablespoon. Because their small brains need to power their big, hungry bodies, alligators are all about conserving mental energy. To perform everyday tasks, they rely on instinct and learned reflex rather than complex cognition. Essentially, whether they’re sunbaking or swimming, alligators spend the majority of their time on autopilot. Their cognitive powers only really kick in when they spot a threat or an opportunity.

Your brain is definitely bigger than half a tablespoon. But it has more in common with an alligator’s brain than you might think. To conserve your mental energy, your brain spends a lot of time in Gator mode. Whenever you’re doing something habitual to you, like chopping onions, swimming laps, or reading a novel, you’re using instinct and reflex to power through the task. You’re using your Gator Brain.

We’ll call System 2 your Judge Brain. In Judge mode, your brain performs more complex cognitive feats, like analyzing, comparing, questioning, and concentrating. High-level tasks and tasks that you’re not yet proficient in will demand your Judge Brain take over.

Here’s the catch. Most people think that the Judge performs the bulk of the cognitive workload. In reality, we operate far more frequently in Gator mode. Gator Brain is actually your default setting, cognitively speaking. In fact, nothing even gets sent to your Judge Brain without your Gator Brain’s approval.

When we come to someone with a proposal, a pitch, or a request, we often try to appeal to the Judge. But we might see better results if we addressed the Gator instead. Remember: every cognitive input, without exception, has to go through the Gator. And the Gator is efficient. Less politely: your Gator brain is seriously lazy. 

One corporation turned that laziness to its own advantage with stunning results. In 2015, Pizza Hut was the world’s largest pizza delivery company. Its rival, Dominoes, wanted the top spot. 

So, Dominoes introduced the Anyware campaign. The goal? Make it easier than ever to order a pizza. The company figured they already had their customers' payment information and address. Here’s what they came up with: you could text, or tweet, an emoticon of a pizza to Dominos and – well, there is no and. That was it. Send a pizza emoji, get your usual order delivered to your door. Sales went up 10 percent in that quarter alone, and just three years later, Dominos knocked Pizza Hut off its perch and became the biggest pizza delivery company in the world.

When you make a proposal graspable, a call-to-action simple, a decision easy-to-make, you’ve already increased your chances of success, because you’re appealing directly to the Gator. So before you try and over-complicate things, see if you can find your pizza-emoji-equivalent.