We’re all in the business of persuading, personally and professionally. And we all know how hard it is. Two insights from people I’ve met.

We listen to people we like and trust. And tell stories. Our brains are designed to remember and repeat stories. Especially stories which are imprinted in the limbic area of the brain. Emotions, not facts. The great books of humankind are comprised of stories, not statistics.

Stories about pilgrimages are deeply embedded in human history. One person I stayed with had walked the Camino with her two young sons and turned that journey into a broader story of transformation for them all. Now a TED talk.

Spend more time to support “adopters” than to try to persuade “resisters”. “Wait and see-ers” are persuaded by their peers, as adopters, rather than leaders or senior management.

I’m on a journey with a big aim: eradicating cervical cancer in a generation. Let's keep the women we love alive. That's 250,000 more great stories each year.

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#3500toendit