We're excited to introduce you to the topic of ethical persuasion and give you tips on how to present more professionally and persuasively at BNI events and everywhere else.

In 2026, Patrick's chapter asked him to offer a regular session to help members with their presentations. This led to a session that merged goals for BNI presentations with presentation skills in general. Of course, including strategies from the science of persuasion, which is Patrick's expertise.

You'll receive lots of easy-to-implement tips to look good, be paid attention to and acted upon.

Feel free to invite other current BNI members.

No, sorry. This one is for BNI members exclusively. If you're no longer a BNI member, or haven't joined yet, then consider joining one of Patrick's regular webinars, listen to his podcast or book a discovery call to discuss how we can assist you.

Our business partner, Dr Robert Cialdini, is considered the godfather of influence and persuasion. He wrote the book 'INFLUENCE - The Psychology of Persuasion' back in 1984, and to this day it is still being listed as one of the more important reads for business people. (Again in 2025, in FORBES' timeless reads list, it was number 1# again!). Influence is considered by many top CEOs the best business book of all time. It made the science accessible outside the academic community and if you look up anything related to influence or persuasion online, you'll realise you'll be presented with content from or about Dr Cialdini every time.

Dr Cialdini has passed 80 now and while he is still very active looking at any new research that comes out, he did create the Cialdini Institute in 2023 to look after his legacy. Part of the Institute are Cialdini Certified Trainers like Patrick van der Burght, who make the science more accessible than it ever has been.

Dr Cialdini was a professor at Arizona State University. His book and work is referred to by leading educational institutions, and praised by businesses large and small. Check out our full testimonial page if you like to see some impressive businesses sing his praises.

Most of us don't like the idea that we can't get ahead unless we lie to others. We're delighted that research also shows that ethical use of persuasion science leads to short-term success as well as long-term success. Unethical use, however, is shown to lead to long-term disaster. Those are 2 good reasons why everyone should want to use persuasion science ethically.

It also means that when it comes to training a team within a business, this topic is embraced and not resisted. People get behind this, and they also like that it is useful in business as well as privately.

In the spirit of givers gain Patrick is making this available to BNI Members. There is no push to enrol in any of his courses or workshops, but you should consider it if you think this 1-hour session was amazing and raised concepts and abilities you were totally unaware of or don't use on a daily basis.

You will learn from this session and, at the same time, better understand what persuasion science is and how powerful it is. If this makes you more confident referring business to Patrick for keynotes, workshops, training, or consulting when the opportunity arises, then that would be lovely. :)

If you'd like to learn more or educate yourself or your team, the best first step is to have a discovery call with us to understand your situation and challenges before we figure out together which learning or consulting path might best suit you.

You will walk away with actionable insights from attending this event.