There is resistance and you do not know how to deal with it. You have explained it, backed it up and repeated it.
Resistance sits in the situation: in what people have to give up and what they doubt. You learn to read what holds them back and how to remove it. That is how you influence what people choose and do.
2 days · Amsterdam · € 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendarOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
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Answer three questions. Then you see what is going on for you.
You said: the resistance is out loud, with always a new objection.
You said: the resistance is silent. Everyone nods, and then everything slips.
You said: they went along at first, and now they are dropping out.
You said: you have tried all sorts, and nothing has changed.
And it sits mostly in your own team. People rarely tell their manager first what really bothers them.
And it sits mostly with people you are not in charge of. Then influence is all you have, and it starts with what they stand to lose.
And it sits mostly above you. A board, too, holds on to what works well enough today.
Whoever objects out loud is telling you what they stand to lose: a way of working that is good enough, or the freedom to choose for themselves. In every new argument from you, they mainly hear that it is going ahead regardless.
Tomorrow, do not explain it again. Ask the three loudest opponents what makes it hard for them, and write down what they say. That is your list of what to remove.
Saying yes costs nothing. “We have no time for it” is easier to say than “I am not sure I can do this”. So what you hear in the meeting is rarely what holds people back.
Tomorrow, have one conversation with one person. Ask what is hard about it in practice and what they have to give up. What you hear then never reaches the meeting table.
At first everyone paid attention and it went well. Then habit won: the old system was still there, so were the old agreements, and nobody asked about the new way any more. It looks like dropping out and feels like resistance.
Tomorrow, find where the old way is still easier than the new: a double registration, or a form that still exists. Remove one and show that you did.
Explanation, arguments and pressure all work on the same side: they push. The doubts and comforts that keep people with the old way stay where they are. As long as they do, pushing harder mostly produces more counter-pressure.
Tomorrow, plan no new action. First map what is holding people back. Then you know what to remove.
The Art of Influence© · 2 days · AmsterdamThe Art of Influence© · online · 33 lessons
After the training you read what holds people back. And you know how to remove it, so they come along by themselves.
Start online now →€ 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendar · max 16 participantsOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
The Art of Influence© is the SUE training for anyone who has to deal with resistance. You learn why people do not go along with a plan or change, and how to remove what holds them back. It is for managers, project leads and advisers, with no prior knowledge required. You follow it online at your own pace (€ 1,190 excl. VAT) or in two days live in Amsterdam (€ 1,490 excl. VAT, at most 16 participants).
“At the Academy you learn a lot about behavioral change and how to apply it in a short period of time. The training flew by and was very well put together. Amazing how complicated material comes to life in a fun and interactive course! I am definitely going to apply it in my work and explore it further.”
10,000+ professionals trained, including people from
You see which forces keep people with the old way, and which pull them towards the new.
You hear in a conversation what holds someone back, even when they do not say it out loud.
You remove what holds people back, so you do not have to explain it a fourth time.
You test your approach small, before you take the whole team or organisation along.
You learn this with the Behavioural Design Method© and the SUE | Influence Framework©. It builds on the force field analysis of psychologist Kurt Lewin, who saw that weakening the restraining forces works better than pushing harder.
The live edition has a maximum of 16 participants: you practise on real cases from practice. Online you follow the same programme in 33 lessons, at your own pace and with feedback from a trainer on every assignment.
| Conversation training for resistance | One-day masterclass | The Art of Influence© | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Usually one or two days | One day | Online at your own pace, or two days live |
| What you learn | Responding to resistance in the conversation | Inspiration and examples | Reading what holds people back, and removing it |
| What you work on | Your own response in the moment | A first introduction | The situation that causes the resistance |
If you mainly want to stand firmer in one difficult conversation, conversation training is the quicker route. If you want the resistance itself to shrink, you are in the right place.
Trainer & consultant
Helps organisations understand why people do what they do, and steers it in culture and wellbeing programmes.
Trainer & consultant
Designs lasting change in healthcare and sustainability, in people and in organisations.
Product designer & UX strategist
Turns behavioural science into practical solutions that help teams innovate faster.
Trainer & consultant
Founded the Behavioural Design Circle at ABN AMRO and has spent 25 years on customer behaviour and change.
The knowledge I have gained in this training is immediately applicable in my daily practice. We now have a practical tool to link technical changes to behaviour, so that the improvements are actually changed in people's minds. This minimizes relapses into old habits.
Valuable training where existing knowledge is clearly incorporated into practical frameworks, making behavioral design accessible to everyone.
An educational training that provides easy tools for behavioral change.
Maps, in one overview, the forces that hold people back and those that move them.
Translates what you found into interventions that make going along easier than holding back.
Shows what people are really trying to get done, and why the old behaviour fits that.
The questions that let you hear what people do not say in the meeting.
Pins down exactly which behaviour you want to see and how you test it small before rolling out.
After purchase you receive the AI Mentor, after the training your certificate and lifelong membership of the Behavioural Design Club.
Most participants take the training on their employer’s budget or their own training budget. The VAT invoice goes to your organisation: €1,490 excl. VAT. Open the email below, fill in three things and send it to your manager.
2 days · Amsterdam · € 1,490 excl. VAT · next edition see the calendar · max 16 participants · EQAC certificateOnline · 33 lessons at your own pace · €1,190 excl. VAT
Yes. In The Art of Influence© you learn to deal with resistance by finding out what holds people back and removing it. It is a method you apply to any kind of resistance: resistance to change, resistance in your team or resistance to a plan you want to get through.
For managers, project leads and advisers who need to bring people along. No background in behavioural science required.
Yes. Resistance to change looks the same from the outside and has a different cause in each group. With the SUE | Influence Framework© you map, per group, what keeps people with the old way, so you know where to start.
Yes. Online you follow the same programme in 33 lessons, at your own pace, with personal feedback from a trainer on every assignment. You have six months of access and pay € 1,190 excluding VAT.
The live edition has a maximum of 16 participants and takes place at SUE on the 's-Gravenhekje in Amsterdam. English-language editions run several times a year; you choose from all dates when you enrol.
The online edition costs € 1,190 excluding VAT, with the Behavioural Design Toolkit and a digital certificate. The live edition costs € 1,490 excluding VAT, including the toolkit, lunch, the EQAC certificate, access to the AI Mentor after purchase and lifelong membership of the BD Club.
An EQAC-certified certificate for The Art of Influence©. Participants rate the training 9.3 out of 10.
Yes. The Art of Influence© is also available in-company, with a question from your own organisation as the case.
With your whole team? See the team trainings.
What resistance tells you about your plan, and what to do with it.
Read the guide →Support grows in the situation where people have to choose. What you do differently when you design that situation.
Read the guide →How to get directors and colleagues from other departments to choose your plan, even when you are not in charge of them.
Read the guide →Whoever pushes resistance away gets counter-pressure. Whoever removes what holds people back gets movement.
