[Note to reader...I will be creating separate blogs for each program I go to. Why you ask? I do this so that the information is more digestible. Buon Digestione!]
Today was my first taste of seminars. I started off with ACRL’s The Power of Persuation lecture. The speakers included the following:
Camila A. Alire, ACRL President, 2005-2006 [provided introduction]
Dr. Robert Cialdini, Regents' Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
Dr. Julie Todaro, Dean of Library Services (LS) and Head Librarian of the Rio Grande Campus Library of Austin Community College (ACC) in Austin, Texas
Maureen Sullivan, Organization Development Consultant [could not attend]
Dr. Robert B. Cialdini walked the program’s participants through various ways in which they may support their position. Simple presentation techniques such as word phrasing or sentence structure may have a huge impact on how others perceive one’s request.
Dr. Cialdini stressed that people are given opportunities to creating lasting relationships through reciprocation. He added that employees within service industries (e.g. librarianship, etc.) have been conditioned to downplay the importance of their work. For example, after completing a rigorous research request for a professor, one could say, “Ah, it was nothin,” or one could say, “Your welcome. It’s what long-term partners do for each other.”
I know. It sound a little corny, but I’m a believer. I believe that if one practices this type of communication one will have a much easier time finding support, and the support may come from a vast number of colleagues within one’s social network.
If you are interested in this approach, check out ACRL’s Power of Persuasion Toolkit [Sorry, currently the PDF is not available through the Marketing office of the ACRL. The organizers of the program did not give a definite timeline as to when it would be posted L] But, you can read Dr. Todaro’s writing on the subject. Finally, you can buy Cialdini’s video from Kantola, but, if you’re not willing to cough up the $95.00, you can get a preview through Google video and/or Kantola. Even better yet, if you are part of OhioLink, you can ILL the video from:
Library = OPAL Libraries, Location = FINDLAY MEDIA , Online Version = 0, Call Number/Serial = 658.4 P887, 2001 , Holdings Status = AVAILABLE
Interestingly, after the lecture I was speaking with Dr. Todaro. After introducing myself, she said that she knew our new Columbus SLIS professor, Dr. Belinda Boon. [note to KSU Columbus SLIS staff (Hi Deb J) – Dr. Boon’s info is not posted yet]
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