This document provides guidance for student leaders on managing personalities, resolving conflicts, negotiating solutions, influencing decision makers, and planning effective advocacy strategies. It discusses six challenging personality types, five conflict styles, and an interest-based relational approach. It also summarizes techniques of social influence, including reciprocation, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus. The document provides questions to help students apply these concepts when advocating for issues like tuition, student life, and higher education funding.

1. The Student Leader Survival Plan

2. 
Managing Difficult Personalities
 Six challenging personality types
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Conflict Resolution
 Five different conflict styles
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Interest Based Relational Approach
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Set the Scene
Gather Information
Agree on the Problem
Brainstorm
Negotiate a Solution

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Advocacy Days (D.C. & St. Paul)
Tuition & Fee Consultation
Student Life Committees
Understanding the psychology of persuasion
will:
 Show how techniques are used on you
 Teach you how to use these techniques to your
advantage

4. 
Dr. Robert Cialdini identified six universal
practices in social influence.
 Reciprocation
 Scarcity
 Authority
 Consistency
 Liking
 Consensus

5. 
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Giving to get something.
Question 1: What “gifts” could you give to
authorities that influence student policy?
Question 2: What could be seen as a fair return
for those “gifts”?

6. 
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Resources are limited
Question 1: What “limited resources” drive
the need for affordable higher education.
Question 2: How can your proposals be
considered “Limited Time Offers”?

7. 
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The Expert Opinion
Question 1: Who are the champions among
authority who will support your cause?
Question 2: What research can you provide to
back up your arguments?

8. 
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Also known as Consistency & Commitment
Question 1: What small commitments can you
get people to agree to in order to create
consistent support?
Question 2: How do you stage your needs to
gain increased support later on?

9. 
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Creating a persona or organization that people
like to work with.
Question 1: How should you approach the
people you need to work with?
Question 2: How can you learn more about
them in order to get them to like you?

10. 
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Also known as Social Proof. People will
follow what other people are doing.
Question 1: How can you create or locate
evidence of social proof for your agenda?
Question 2: How can you use previous
techniques to establish social proof?

11. 
Identify student needs on your campus
 CCSSE Survey
 Tabling/Networking/Personal Survey
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Locate campus strategic plan
 Find elements that match student needs
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Research the deal-makers
 More networking
 Google searches

12. 
Plan Short & Long Term
 Transition new leadership
 Adapt plans to new leadership
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Stay Flexible
 Change with the climate
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Celebrate victories, no matter how small