When was the last time you tuned into the safety briefing on board a plane? It's amazing to consider that even when our lives could depend on the information, we are reluctant to pay attention.

Air New Zealand has managed to reinvent the tired format of airline safety videos, using humour to find new ways to influence their audience. Every year they release a new air safety video that is pretty much guaranteed to go viral. For example, film director Peter Jackson plays a cameo role in a Hobbit-themed version called ‘An Unexpected Briefing'; another, ‘Safety Old School Style', stars Golden Girl Betty White; and (my personal favourite) US fitness personality Richard Simmons and leotard-clad cabin crew deliver preflight safety messages to a disco beat!

Air New Zealand has found a fresh and compelling way to influence. The case for new influence doesn't rest on media stars and videos with high production values, though, but on simple yet effective strategies that can be used successfully every day.

Even a humble sign can be made over using one of the tools we will examine — message power. Walking through a park in London recently, I spotted a lawn sign that, rather than the conventional ‘Keep off the grass', read simply, ‘The grass is resting'. Just a little paint, and imagination. That's influence.

Part I sets out the case for new influence. In chapter 1, we explore the difference between influence and manipulation. Chapter 2 introduces the art of power play, challenging our traditional reliance on a limited range of hard power and soft power tools, and presents a review of the various ‘modes of influence' that will be developed in the rest of the book.