June 2014. An elderly man selling black-and-white prints in a pop-up stall in Central Park, New York, jostling cheek by jowl with other pop-up shops selling kitschy tourist souvenirs, artist prints, mugs and a mishmash of tourist memorabilia. His prints were a pricey $60 each, and he had just three sales that day, unlike neighbouring stalls, which did a roaring trade selling goods at a fraction of that price. Imagine the shock of New Yorkers when the next morning they discovered that these were no ordinary prints, but original art works by one of the world's most famous if secretive and enigmatic street artists, Banksy.

The next day Banksy provided provenance for the works through this statement on his website: ‘Yesterday, I set up a stall in the park selling a 100% signed Banksy painting at $60.'

It was part of a month-long campaign in which Banksy created street art in different spots in New York, sending locals and tourists into a frenzy. One stenciled spray painting bought for $60 was estimated by Bothams to be worth five figures. Even though New York was primed for Banksy, and experiencing Banksy fever, no one spotted his original art when it was sold for a tiny amount.

Why? They were deluded by the context. Seeing an old man in a pop-up shop made them immediately dismiss the goods he was selling as bad art or possibly even fakes.

An experiment in context

Back in 2007 the Washington Post arranged for Joshua Bell, one of the world's most celebrated violinists, to perform anonymously in a subway station in Washington, DC as an experiment in context and perception.

In a Pulitzer Prize–winning article on the experiment, journalist Gene Weingarten writes, ‘He played masterpieces that have endured for centuries on their brilliance alone, soaring music befitting the grandeur of cathedrals and concert halls'.

Preparing for the event, Post editors discussed how to deal with all imaginable scenarios. Surely people would recognise Bell. ‘Cameras would flash. More people flock to the scene; rush-hour pedestrian traffic backs up; tempers flare; the National Guard is called; tear gas, rubber bullets, etc.'

As it turned out, only one person recognised Bell. The rest of the commuters swarmed past. Joshua Bell was ignored, and after playing for the whole day he earned just $40.

‘The following Tuesday,' Weingarten writes, ‘Bell accepted the Avery Fisher prize, which recognized the Flop of L'Enfant Plaza as the best classical musician in America'.

The Washington Post experiment demonstrated the power of context in shaping our perception and our ability to influence and be influenced.

Away from the concert hall stage and the spotlight, Joshua Bell was just another busker. Original Banksy art works were dismissed as both worthless and expensive.

Context and content — which is king?

Context is like oxygen: we live and breathe it; it regulates our lives. Without the oxygen of context, our content is doomed to die.

Australian content marketing expert Kath Walters explains how we all love context. A contextual statement such as ‘Gina Reinhart is the richest woman in Australia' or ‘cat movies are the most watched on YouTube' is important because it creates a context for our brains when processing information.

Power players understand the power of context and always treat it as king. The old way is to jump into content; the new way is first to study and understand context. Of course we can rise above our context. But for most of us, context defines our response to any given set of circumstances.

StreetSmart Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that battles homelessness by raising awareness and funds. In 2003 StreetSmart launched a campaign asking diners at selected restaurants to leave a small donation with their bill. The campaign, DineSmart, runs in November and December each year. By nailing the context — at the end of a good meal, at the time of year when we feel most generous — DineSmart has helped raise more than $3.15 million for the cause.

The campaign has had a hugely successful history and is still running. And it owes a measure of its success to the fact that the campaign brains understood the importance of context for success.

Context is the what, why, where and who of any situation, and disproportionately influences our responses. Context shapes our interactions, our ability to influence and our capacity to be influenced.

Recently the National Gallery of Victoria mounted an exhibition titled Follow the Flag: Australian Artists at War 1914–45. One of the themes was trench art, which showcased the art created by soldiers out of salvaged artillery shell cases and other battlefield detritus. The exhibition also featured a knife with the handle made from bullets and a belt with a buckle made from a shell case. One ink drawing by Colin Colahan, titled The Souvenir Hunter(1918), shows a soldier dashing out onto the battlefield in pursuit of a live shell that roars overhead. The caption reads, ‘I haven't got a nose-cap off one of those big shells'.

The catalogue describes trench art as both powerful and poignant because of its context — soldiers in the throes of war passing the anxious hours of waiting between attacks by conjuring up art out of the prosaic. It speaks volumes about their experience, their creativity and their ingenuity.

The anatomy of context

In the anatomy of context model (illustrated in figure 6.1), we start by examining what context means, the first question that any understanding of context must answer.

I recently sat on a Melbourne tram opposite a man who was shouting angrily and gesticulating wildly. In most contexts this would have felt threatening, if not terrifying. But the fact that he was creating the uproar on his mobile phone changed the context (the what, why, who and where) for his fellow passengers. Still unpleasant, but not threatening.

What and who … perspective and personalisation

The what and who of context create perspective and allow personalisation. Perspective is how things appear. Addressing the what allows you to create the right perspective for your audience, or to invite them to share your perspective. It's why people say ‘Let's put things into perspective'.

Perspective is a point of view. It can be both subjective (‘my perspective on this is …') or objective (‘let's get some perspective on this').

Perspective (point of view) and perception (how things appear to me) are two sides of the same coin. Perspective and perception are important filters. That is why in ink blot personality tests a blot can resemble a spider to one person and a flower to another.

I'm a runner, but on a recent Saturday run I felt despondent. There I was, far behind the rest of my group, running alone. As humans, we hate being seen to perform poorly, especially in public. My mood darkened and at one point I wondered if I should give running away. It had been a year and I felt I wasn't making much progress. My thoughts started to spiral into despair.

At that moment my friend ran back to me so I confessed how I was feeling. She said to just remember that a year ago I wasn't running at all and that now I can easily do 10 kilometres.

Her words immediately gave me a different perspective, a different point of view.

Think of a context at work or in your personal life and start by addressing the what. What perspective would most people have in this context? What perspective (point of view) would you like them to have?

As an influencer you can further shape perspective (point of view) and perception (how things appear to me) through simple tools. For example, research has shown that in most contexts people defer to figures of authority and people in uniform.

When it comes to taking instructions in an emergency, people respond best to men in suits. The National Gallery of Victoria security staff have traded in their traditional guard uniforms for Armani suits. The gallery understood how important the image of authority and respect was for patrons and staff alike.

A police or nurse's uniform, or a white coat and stethoscope, immediately shifts our perspective and informs our perception. In the Batman film The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger as the Joker subverts this perception by incongruously dressing in a nurse's costume as he blows up the hospital behind him. At work, having the CEO launch the new flexible work program shapes people's perspective that this is sanctioned from the top.

In our model, next we think about the who in this context. Is it a work or business setting? Is it internal employees or external stakeholders?

The who allows us to personalise our messages. Personalising allows us to create high-touch influence moments. Being high touch through personalisation in a low-touch/high-tech world will help you stand out as an influencer. So what is an example of high touch?

The global decline in volume of letters sent by snail mail is accelerating. Yet we all know the power of a handwritten note, because it demonstrates thought, effort and care on the part of the writer in a very personal way. Compare that with the hundreds of low-touch emails you receive daily. My gym sends every member a handwritten birthday card. For some people it is possibly the only birthday card they receive as adults. Simple, yet powerful.

A recent newspaper headline announced that Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) referees would no longer wear pink. NRL officials believe that having them wear pink undermines the authority of the referees. No one can take a man in pink seriously. So referees this season will wear blue or red uniforms, colours that a National Centre for Australian Studies lecturer, Dr Tom Heenan, said were more likely to encourage discipline. In this context the who, the fact that we are dealing with usually male umpires in positions of authority in a macho sport, takes on added significance.

Why and where … and social proof

The where in the model relates to the physical or non-physical space of the context. The environment in which we operate, and what is happening in our head space and lives — all contribute to the where of context.

Most employers still believe the face-to-face interview is one of the, if not the, most crucial steps in the recruitment process. For them the where is crucial — usually in their own territory and in person.

The why asks why this is important. Why should people care? The tool that helps us with both why and where is social proof.

Humans are context-sensitive creatures, highly attuned to context cues. Often we take our cues on how to behave in unfamiliar contexts from those around us. The old adage ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do' goes some way to explaining why so many people wear business suits in the city and swimsuits at the beach.

At some stage you have probably, and embarrassingly, misread the dress code for an event. It's one reason why the ill-defined term ‘smart casual' can cause so much angst. A former employer launched a smart casual Friday policy. (I concede that this was in the nineties, when we all emulated Silicon Valley however we could.) The company actually ran a fashion show to demonstrate to us what this new context demanded. Lots of chinos and tailored jeans and no thongs pretty much summed it up.

You will often look for leads from people around you before taking action or making a purchase decision. The general heuristic rule is that if we see many others are doing it, it must be good — a persuasion principle that Robert Cialdini calls ‘social proof'.

We feel we are less likely to make mistakes if we follow the majority. This is both the weakness of social proof and its strength. It does provide a convenient shortcut in our time-poor and busy lives, but it can also leave us vulnerable to hucksters.

On the other hand, when we set out to influence others, we don't need complex models, mind-numbing data or thrilling explanations. The proof is not in the pudding but in the social proof!

Simple social proof will work every time, which explains why marketers use statistics such as ‘nine out of ten people' or ‘80 per cent of the population'. These stats are like flashing neon signs around social proof. If the context allows, social proof works well, but use it cautiously.

Masters of context

One of my holiday jobs as a student in London was to count shoppers entering Harrods. Brandishing a clicker and a clipboard we operated in shifts in crack teams of two. It was mind-numbing work, but watching nearby street vendors fascinated us.

There was one piece of theatre we particularly enjoyed. Every day two men would set up on the pavement nearby and display a range of perfumes, with one or two open bottles. They would cheerily spruik to passersby, announcing they were offering genuine goods cheap because they had ‘fallen off the back of a lorry'.

They would quickly attract a couple of keen buyers, which would soon draw a crowd. The seductive bargains and enthusiastic buying (the power of social proof) did the rest.

This performance took place a couple of times a day, so we soon noticed that the first two customers were always the same individuals. They would appear from the Underground, eagerly buy lots of perfume and disappear. Later, when the crowd had thinned, they would return discreetly and slip the perfumes back, ready to repeat the ruse all over again. The con worked every time.

These con artists were masters of context. They understood their what, why, who and where, and set up a context that guaranteed them roaring sales. The perfume spruikers had rigged social proof, and it worked every time!

Understanding the anatomy of context (what, who, where and why) allows us to define a perspective, create personalisation and provide social proof where necessary.

Now you understand context, how can you set it up for success? How do you live the ‘context is king' ethos?

Context is king

The context is king model (see figure 6.2, overleaf) shows us three worlds — the old perfect, the imperfect and the new perfect — and juxtaposes these with the three dimensions of progress: before, during and the results.

In the old perfect, one party sets up context (think of exams or an interview). The smooth running of your life depends on pre-set contexts, so when you walk into a bank or a parking lot or a supermarket you know what to expect. A set-up model can be rigid and contrived. How tedious is it when supermarkets position milk and bread at the furthest corners of the store, forcing you to wander the aisles first?

You've probably met employment candidates who nail the interview but then perform poorly on the job. They are masters of the interview context, but not necessarily of the work they are expected to do.

Setting up context — for example, choosing to hold your team meeting in the boardroom instead of in the breakout area or the canteen — sends powerful signals. It can give you a semblance of control, but it trades this for a more authentic interaction.

A few years ago we did some work with a large financial company. They used to hold regular town hall–style meetings with more than 400 team members in a cavernous auditorium.

The chief financial officer found that while everyone listened silently they never had any questions. She could sense a lack of focus or engagement. It was a tired context, so she decided to try something different.

At the next meeting she changed the context. She invited smaller teams of employees into a room with café-style seating. No stage, no microphone. She and her executive team involved employees in the presentations and the conversation. They also changed the meeting structure to foster more interaction, with table discussions and question time.

This change in context set up the presentation and messages for success. The silent mass, anonymous in the dark auditorium, was suddenly transformed into contributing, engaged and excited individuals.

The CFO gave up some level of control, but traded that for positive engagement.

In the context is king model the ‘old perfect' means setting up the context. This can be contrived and rigid, and the result is control. But, as in the example shared above, it may not be the outcome you seek.

The next level in the model, the ‘current imperfect', requires us to research contexts, and then adapt to them with agility or try to mould them to suit our needs. There is an ancient proverb that says, ‘A wise man is able to adapt to the surprises of life as water to the decanter it is poured in'.

Research, be agile, adapt

What do you do when you're presented with a new or different context?

You might be part of a pitch team invited into a client's or prospect's office, or on the executive team presenting to shareholders at the annual general meeting in an external environment, or a guest speaker in a webinar.

The first step is to research the context and know what to expect. Never walk into a situation unprepared, because that can drastically affect your performance and results. While this may sound obvious, it is a surprisingly common mistake and can really separate the pros from the amateurs.

If you are presented with an unexpected context, try to adapt it to suit your needs or use your agility to respond to it.

Team members under one senior leader we worked with told us he'd delivered his whole presentation to them with his back to a window. The streaming light backlit his head like a halo but cast his face into deep shadow. No one suggested he move.

Another senior leader was invited to speak at an industry conference where all the guest speakers used the lectern and he felt obliged to fall into line. Unable to move about and use his hands in his normally personable and animated style, he ended up feeling disconnected from the audience. When asked afterwards why he hadn't requested a lapel mike, he said he hadn't thought of it.

Both research and adapting the context to work in your favour, rather than against you, can determine the impact and influence you will have.

I was a guest speaker at an event in June 2014 at NAB Village, a meeting venue one of Australia's top banks makes available for customers and conferences. The speaker before me used the lapel mike, but despite the sound checks we had run before the event, his voice was distorted and barely audible.

When my turn came, I asked the audience for a show of hands from people who thought the sound quality was poor. It's not something I normally do, but lot of hands went up. So I decided I would discard the mike. Making a joke of it, I projected my voice and said, ‘You don't grow up in a country of over a billion people without learning to be LOUD. Can everyone at the back hear me? If not, please move forward'.

Later, during the Q&A and feedback session, I was surprised by the number of comments on how altering the context in this way had changed the experience for the listeners.

The new perfect — co-curate, level up, transform

The final option in the contextmodel is to co-curate the context with your audience. This can be engaging and powerful. It requires courage to step up to this level, but the results will amaze you.

Perhaps you have grown up with art galleries where ‘Do not touch' is the norm. Installation and performance artists today often invite the audience to participate and co-curate the experience.

Belgian artist Carsten Höller is a master of these techniques. Driven by his interest in human perception and play, he often invites adults and children alike to participate in artworks based on rides, a unique experience or viewing the world from a new angle.

Some of these experiences can be disorienting. Giant Psycho Tank (2000), for example, invites visitors to float weightlessly in a sensory-deprivation pool. Upside Down Glasses (2001) flip your vision of the world on its head when you wear them.

Co-curation is fine in the art world, you may be thinking, but how can it work in business?

Spanish shoemaker Camper made headlines in San Francisco when the company opened its unfinished store to customers, calling it ‘Walk in Progress'. Camper invited customers to draw on the unpainted walls, and shoes were displayed on top of packaging containers. Customers loved it. The most popular message written on the walls was, ‘Keep the store just the way it is'.

Camper has now adopted this experimental approach as part of its philosophy and opens stores in two stages. In the first stage, the ‘Walk in Progress', customers are invited to contribute their thoughts and messages. The finished store then takes on the unique characteristics of its neighbourhood, as shaped by its customers. In this way, Camper co-creates and co-curates with its customers to shape their current and future shopping context.

You may find just reading about these ideas hair raising. What about issues of health and safety, and legal liability? Co-curation takes courage, but it rewards us with a whole new level in the game of business. Co-creation can transform our ability to influence, and our results. It is so important that we dedicate a whole chapter (chapter 13) to it.

I was recently listening to a pop quiz on the radio on my way to work. Every correct answer scored the contestant money. He had to beat the clock of course, and he stumbled and fumbled and the clock struck him out. Straight afterwards, without the clock, they asked him the same questions — and he knew almost every answer.

The ticking clock changed the context for him, creating so much pressure that he couldn't perform.

Context can make or break us as influencers. It is like oxygen, so power players treat it with respect. They understand the anatomy of context and ensure it works in their favour.

Hard and soft power, story and context — all play their part in building influence, but, as the following chapter explains, it is empathy that truly sets the power player apart.