NolaCon 2019 C 02 Social Engineering At Work How to use positive influence to gain management buy in

Overcoming Social Hurdles in Professional Settings
📌 The speaker overcame debilitating introversion by taking a social engineering class, emphasizing that practice makes these skills feel natural and easy.
😟 Many in InfoSec experience impostor syndrome ("if they just found out I have no idea what I'm doing"), which must be overcome for career advancement.
🧠 Social discomfort often triggers the part of the brain associated with physical pain, explaining the avoidance of uncomfortable interactions like silence in small talk.

Navigating Workplace Politics
⚖️ Politics exist in every group (from bake sales to boardrooms); bad politics involve backstabbing, while good politics advance self-interests while serving a higher purpose (company/coworker success).
🤝 Networking is not socializing; it's a purposeful activity to learn about necessary contacts and practice social skills required for better job outcomes.
⚙️ Influence helps in political environments, but it must be executed with sincerity and authenticity, avoiding any perception of malicious manipulation.

Social Engineering Techniques for Influence
🔍 Reconnaissance and Infiltration involves mapping out the "humans intelligence" at work—identifying stakeholders, influencers, and their associations.
👂 Understand how decisions are made: are they snap decisions or subject to lengthy analysis by an influencer or manager?
🗣️ Body language and tone are critical; lower your pitch when nervous and be aware that mirroring others subconsciously builds rapport.

Building Trust and Managing Interactions
🤝 Build social capital by cultivating relationships *before* needing assistance; constantly asking for things without reciprocating fosters mistrust.
🌟 When asking for help, focus on the benefits (e.g., saving the company money or time) rather than making it sound like a demand or diminishing the ask.
🌱 To propose change, plant seeds gradually over time and provide answers for the impacts (like extra time required) to reduce resistance, as sudden change is often rejected.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ To combat small talk aversion, practice asking open-ended questions about others (e.g., practicing on Uber drivers) as people enjoy talking about themselves.
➡️ When facing opposition, avoid attacking; instead, ask "What is stopping you from saying yes?" to uncover underlying concerns, similar to sales techniques.
➡️ In remote work, proactively use available time—dialing into virtual meetings early for small talk and scheduling non-work-related one-on-one calls builds necessary rapport.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 25, 2025, 16:30 UTC