HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?
At the Influence Institute we help leaders and high-performers to positively influence themselves and others, so they can solve big problems and help your company achieve its purpose.
We dream of a world in which everyone goes to bed at night feeling they’ve been able to perform at their highest potential and build their legacy from a place of deep happiness, positive influence, and peak performance.
By blending timeless wisdom with modern neuroscience, we deliver change-making keynotes, masterclasses, and leadership programs, both in-person and online.
Keynote Talks & Masterclass Topics
Our primary work is with leaders, however, as a global authority on influence, Gilan’s topics can also be applied to sales, negotiation, and more.
Keynotes are up to 1 hour. Masterclasses are up to 4 hours. That said, every session is customised to your preferences and the outcomes you need.
Click here to contact us and discuss your needs
Click the topics below to read their full description.
In today’s competitive business landscape, one of the most prevalent challenges companies face isn’t just about hitting targets — it’s the unseen toll on top performers.
High achievers often grapple with mounting stress, burnout, and a persistent feeling of emptiness despite their successes. This not only affects their overall happiness but also subtly erodes their performance over time.
Can you recall members of your team expressing feelings of being overwhelmed despite their accomplishments? Have you noticed that the once-consistent enthusiasm and energy that is their driving force has begun to dip in deeper or more frequent waves?
This is where “Deep Happiness, Peak Performance” comes in.
This session addresses these intricate challenges, providing your team with unique perspectives and practical frameworks to align their drive for accomplishment with deep-seated fulfilment.
Grounded in the latest neuroscience, our approach doesn’t just introduce self-help concepts; it provides actionable strategies tailored to optimise cognitive potential and well-being. The outcome? An invigorated team that not only performs at their peak but does so with genuine joy and satisfaction.
By empowering your team with the ability to experience success together with deep happiness, you’re not just enhancing individual well-being, but also cultivating a more productive, passionate, and resilient work environment. This ripple effect leads to improved teamwork, innovative ideas, fulfilment of the team’s purpose, and a robust bottom line.
In a world where relentless hustle has often been mistaken for genuine achievement, it’s time we redefine success, and in the process, enhance your team’s trajectory.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Gilan presents his groundbreaking Rapid Influence Formula that deconstructs influence into three simple components, enabling you to create swift and impactful influence without ever compromising your values.
The reality is, in today’s fast-paced business world, rapid influence is the key to success. Without it, you’ll find yourself constantly struggling to make the impact you need to get ahead. This simple formula helps you develop influence by establishing trust, credibility, and support with other people, quickly and predictably.
With powerful and practical influence techniques you can start using immediately, the Rapid Influence Formula will enhance your impact in leadership, sales, and self-influence too.
Don’t miss achieving the types of results that only come from having influence.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Applied to Leadership
Today’s times underscore a vital reality every leader must embrace: influence is the cornerstone of leadership. The Rapid Influence Formula offers a practical, values-driven approach to quickly and effectively developing influence.
Leadership guru John C. Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” Gilan agrees, adding, “A leader without influence is like a magnet that’s lost its power. It may look the part, but has no ability to move anything.”
The potential of this keynote in the context of leadership is immense because it offers a clear and replicable process to enhance trust, credibility, and support – key factors that are not just the pillars of influence but also the very bedrock of effective leadership.
Leaders often find themselves navigating rapidly changing landscapes and facing significant challenges that require swift action and decision-making. In these situations, having a readily deployable formula for influence becomes an invaluable tool in any leader’s toolkit.
Applied to Sales
At the heart of any sales transaction lies influence, and mastering it can lead to impressive results. The Rapid Influence Formula provides actionable techniques that can be immediately implemented, boosting sales impact right away.
It’s about accelerating influence, not waiting for it to develop slowly over time. This speed is critical in today’s fast-paced market where competition is rife.
Learning this formula allows salespeople to navigate the intricate dynamics of the sales process with more confidence and effectiveness. It fosters a more impactful presence, influencing potential clients swiftly and positively, and driving sales results that were once considered unattainable.
This is an indispensable tool for any salesperson wishing to significantly up their game.
Applied to Self-Influence
The application of the Rapid Influence Formula goes beyond just influencing others, it can also be used for self-influence, which is the ability to create sustained self-motivation and high performance.
By understanding and applying the three components of the formula to your own mind, you can establish self-trust, self-credibility, and self-support.
Once you establish self-influence with the Rapid Influence Formula, you’ll take confident action towards your goals, make effective decisions, and add longevity to your levels of motivation, energy, and focus.
Break Free from the Chains of Fixed Mindsets
Your mindset is like a pair of glasses you wear all the time. It’s how you interpret everything in the world – good and bad, easy and tough, worthy or waste-of-time. It’s like a filter for your brain that colours your experiences.
Differing mindsets is why two people often perceive and react to the same situation in completely different ways. That’s why the latest research suggests that mindset is the most crucial attribute for developing high performance.
As your mindset evolves, your thinking, learning, and behaviours naturally improve because you’re perceiving and responding to situations more effectively.
Through the filter of a growth mindset, you see challenges and setbacks as opportunities rather than roadblocks. This changes the perception of change and uncertainty into exciting opportunities to grow, cultivating a culture of innovation, adaptability, and continual learning.
In this talk, Gilan blends riveting stories and case studies, backed up with peer-reviewed psychology, frameworks, and actionable advice. This session promises to inspire and unlock your potential to grow.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Applied to Leadership
The way we perceive and react to situations is a product of our mindset. Having the right mindset is especially critical for leaders because their decisions don’t just impact themselves, but the entire team or organization.
That said, a growth mindset isn’t something that leaders should simply adopt for themselves. It’s something they need to foster throughout their organization.
In this way, they create an environment where everyone in the organization can grow, enable individuals to reach their full potential, and improve the collective capabilities of their teams.
Without cultivating a growth mindset in its leaders, an organization’s potential for innovation, adaptability, and consistently high-performance, remains fixed, spelling disaster in today’s business landscape.
Applied to Sales
The impact of mindset on sales performance is profound. Renowned American author, Zig Ziglar said, “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.” That’s why, adopting a proactive, growth mindset can lead to transformative results, placing the power of influence firmly back in the hands of the salesperson.
In sales, the way you see your customers, your products, and how you sell is shaped by your mindset. Just like in a game, it affects how you react to winning and losing, getting better or not seeing improvement.
Salespeople who experience this session strengthen their belief that they can grow and improve with each experience, and are more likely to see every sales call or meeting as a chance to learn. If a customer says no, they don’t see it as a failure, but rather as helpful advice to get better. This makes them more flexible and able to deal with different types of customers and situations.
Ultimately, our mindset holds the key to our growth potential in the field of sales. It unlocks extraordinary potential by fostering resilience, innovation, and continual improvement.
Create Influence Without Saying A Word
Are you ready to take your communication skills to the next level and unlock the secret power of body language?
Learn how to read and interpret body language, understanding the hidden messages behind gestures, expressions, posture and movement. Discover how to use your own body language to communicate more influentially, build trust and respect, and achieve greater success in leadership, sales, and professional relationships
This interactive session is packed with practical strategies and real-world examples, as well as an exciting mentalist demonstration of “reading people like a book” that will leave you amazed.
By the end of the session, you will have a newfound understanding of the power of body language and the ability to use it to take your results and career to new heights.
Don’t miss this opportunity to revolutionise your communication and influence skills, and unlock the hidden potential of body language
Intelligent Entertainment Showcasing The Power Of Influence
Looking for an entertaining “show” or MC, that is totally unique?
Prepare to be enthralled, astounded and inspired as Gilan demonstrates his phenomenal abilities of influence, thought-decoding, and even “predicting” audience’s thoughts and action before they’ve realised them.
This is not just a show, but an immersive and interactive experience that will leave your guests on the edge of their seats, guessing and wondering how Gilan does it.
Don’t just stop at the show: elevate your event to the next level by hiring Gilan as your Master of Ceremonies. He will keep your audience engaged, entertained and attentive, using his jaw-dropping mentalism as icebreakers and energizers. Combining his extensive experience as a facilitator, Gilan is a professional and articulate MC who will take the stress out of the running of your agenda.
This is an experience that is perfect for the audience that craves impactful “wow” moments, with extra layers of mystery for analytical types who enjoy discovering the psychology behind Gilan’s abilities. It’s a brilliant substitute to having a comedian as Gilan’s show is loaded with hilarious interactions, and an uncomplicated audio-visual setup that delivers massive production value.
Gilan has presented thousands of times for a myriad of audiences around the world, and will ensure a perfect performance that is relevant to your audience.
ACCELERATE YOUR TEAM’S HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE
Simple to understand, but without the right tools it’s complex to achieve. Our popular Change-Mindset Assessment (CMA) is a simple, practical tool that: Measures your team’s behavior related to the 5 high-performance levers Reveals the root cause of any counterproductive behaviors Helps your team navigate to victory with a customized development path
Your session with the Discovery Health Exco last month was exceptional. Thank you. We have really benefited through the assessment feedback.
Neville Lindsay
Head of People at Discovery Health
Our SME segment leadership team was profoundly impacted by the insights the assessment surfaced about us, our business, and how we navigate into the future. It's changed how we do things, for the better. Thank you!
Andiswa Bata
Andiswa Bata
Throughout our career we do so many psychometric tests and it tends to put us in a certain box. This assessment gives you insights into your views and behaviours in a way that has nothing to do with personality type.
Danie van Niekerk
Exec Head at Indwe Financial Services
The assessment very clearly helps you to identify where your team is at in terms of their scalability, due to their beliefs and assumptions, and what interventions you need to put in place to help them level up.
Heather Lowe
Head of SME Development at FNB
I have looked at the report and it's fantastic in the insights it provides. I am still working through it in detail.
Maya Govind
Chief of Human Resources at TRT Investments
The assessment feedback helped me to drill down on my team members' behaviour and the perceptions they have about their leaders, their peers and the company itself. I'm using the assessment to great effect to assist them in becoming so much more.
Fred Du Plessis
Operations Manager at Truworths
It gave me a good idea of team members' views on things. We go about life in a certain way, but the assessment helps you consider why you're doing things the way you do them.
Jacques Jordaan
Operations Exec at Indwe Financial Services
This assessment highlighted how the culture of a high-performance team doesn't necessarily look how you expect it to look. Knowing my team's current culture benefits the team.
Leigh-Ann Brown
CEO, Chartall Business College
The assessment feedback helped me to drill down on my team members' behaviour and the perceptions they have about their leaders, their peers and the company itself. I'm using the assessment to great effect to assist them in becoming so much more.
Fred Du Plessis
Operations Manager at Truworths
Our SME segment leadership team was profoundly impacted by the insights the assessment surfaced about us, our business, and how we navigate into the future. It's changed how we do things, for the better. Thank you!
Andiswa Bata
Andiswa Bata
Throughout our career we do so many psychometric tests and it tends to put us in a certain box. This assessment gives you insights into your views and behaviours in a way that has nothing to do with personality type.
Danie van Niekerk
Exec Head at Indwe Financial Services
The assessment very clearly helps you to identify where your team is at in terms of their scalability, due to their beliefs and assumptions, and what interventions you need to put in place to help them level up.
Heather Lowe
Head of SME Development at FNB
It gave me a good idea of team members' views on things. We go about life in a certain way, but the assessment helps you consider why you're doing things the way you do them.
Jacques Jordaan
Operations Exec at Indwe Financial Services
This assessment highlighted how the culture of a high-performance team doesn't necessarily look how you expect it to look. Knowing my team's current culture benefits the team.
Leigh-Ann Brown
CEO, Chartall Business College
Your session with the Discovery Health Exco last month was exceptional. Thank you. We have really benefited through the assessment feedback.
Neville Lindsay
Head of People at Discovery Health
I have looked at the report and it's fantastic in the insights it provides. I am still working through it in detail.
Maya Govind
Chief of Human Resources at TRT Investments
- Expert Topics
- Intelligent Entertainment
- Assessments
Keynote Talks & Masterclass Topics
Our primary work is with leaders, however, as a global authority on influence, Gilan’s topics can also be applied to sales, negotiation, and more.
Keynotes are up to 1 hour. Masterclasses are up to 4 hours. That said, every session is customised to your preferences and the outcomes you need.
Click here to contact us and discuss your needs
Click the topics below to read their full description.
In today’s competitive business landscape, one of the most prevalent challenges companies face isn’t just about hitting targets — it’s the unseen toll on top performers.
High achievers often grapple with mounting stress, burnout, and a persistent feeling of emptiness despite their successes. This not only affects their overall happiness but also subtly erodes their performance over time.
Can you recall members of your team expressing feelings of being overwhelmed despite their accomplishments? Have you noticed that the once-consistent enthusiasm and energy that is their driving force has begun to dip in deeper or more frequent waves?
This is where “Deep Happiness, Peak Performance” comes in.
This session addresses these intricate challenges, providing your team with unique perspectives and practical frameworks to align their drive for accomplishment with deep-seated fulfilment.
Grounded in the latest neuroscience, our approach doesn’t just introduce self-help concepts; it provides actionable strategies tailored to optimise cognitive potential and well-being. The outcome? An invigorated team that not only performs at their peak but does so with genuine joy and satisfaction.
By empowering your team with the ability to experience success together with deep happiness, you’re not just enhancing individual well-being, but also cultivating a more productive, passionate, and resilient work environment. This ripple effect leads to improved teamwork, innovative ideas, fulfilment of the team’s purpose, and a robust bottom line.
In a world where relentless hustle has often been mistaken for genuine achievement, it’s time we redefine success, and in the process, enhance your team’s trajectory.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Gilan presents his groundbreaking Rapid Influence Formula that deconstructs influence into three simple components, enabling you to create swift and impactful influence without ever compromising your values.
The reality is, in today’s fast-paced business world, rapid influence is the key to success. Without it, you’ll find yourself constantly struggling to make the impact you need to get ahead. This simple formula helps you develop influence by establishing trust, credibility, and support with other people, quickly and predictably.
With powerful and practical influence techniques you can start using immediately, the Rapid Influence Formula will enhance your impact in leadership, sales, and self-influence too.
Don’t miss achieving the types of results that only come from having influence.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Applied to Leadership
Today’s times underscore a vital reality every leader must embrace: influence is the cornerstone of leadership. The Rapid Influence Formula offers a practical, values-driven approach to quickly and effectively developing influence.
Leadership guru John C. Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” Gilan agrees, adding, “A leader without influence is like a magnet that’s lost its power. It may look the part, but has no ability to move anything.”
The potential of this keynote in the context of leadership is immense because it offers a clear and replicable process to enhance trust, credibility, and support – key factors that are not just the pillars of influence but also the very bedrock of effective leadership.
Leaders often find themselves navigating rapidly changing landscapes and facing significant challenges that require swift action and decision-making. In these situations, having a readily deployable formula for influence becomes an invaluable tool in any leader’s toolkit.
Applied to Sales
At the heart of any sales transaction lies influence, and mastering it can lead to impressive results. The Rapid Influence Formula provides actionable techniques that can be immediately implemented, boosting sales impact right away.
It’s about accelerating influence, not waiting for it to develop slowly over time. This speed is critical in today’s fast-paced market where competition is rife.
Learning this formula allows salespeople to navigate the intricate dynamics of the sales process with more confidence and effectiveness. It fosters a more impactful presence, influencing potential clients swiftly and positively, and driving sales results that were once considered unattainable.
This is an indispensable tool for any salesperson wishing to significantly up their game.
Applied to Self-Influence
The application of the Rapid Influence Formula goes beyond just influencing others, it can also be used for self-influence, which is the ability to create sustained self-motivation and high performance.
By understanding and applying the three components of the formula to your own mind, you can establish self-trust, self-credibility, and self-support.
Once you establish self-influence with the Rapid Influence Formula, you’ll take confident action towards your goals, make effective decisions, and add longevity to your levels of motivation, energy, and focus.
Break Free from the Chains of Fixed Mindsets
Your mindset is like a pair of glasses you wear all the time. It’s how you interpret everything in the world – good and bad, easy and tough, worthy or waste-of-time. It’s like a filter for your brain that colours your experiences.
Differing mindsets is why two people often perceive and react to the same situation in completely different ways. That’s why the latest research suggests that mindset is the most crucial attribute for developing high performance.
As your mindset evolves, your thinking, learning, and behaviours naturally improve because you’re perceiving and responding to situations more effectively.
Through the filter of a growth mindset, you see challenges and setbacks as opportunities rather than roadblocks. This changes the perception of change and uncertainty into exciting opportunities to grow, cultivating a culture of innovation, adaptability, and continual learning.
In this talk, Gilan blends riveting stories and case studies, backed up with peer-reviewed psychology, frameworks, and actionable advice. This session promises to inspire and unlock your potential to grow.
Suitable and customizable for these audiences:
- Leaders of all levels
- Sales force and support functions
- Company-wide events
- Clients and other external audiences
Applied to Leadership
The way we perceive and react to situations is a product of our mindset. Having the right mindset is especially critical for leaders because their decisions don’t just impact themselves, but the entire team or organization.
That said, a growth mindset isn’t something that leaders should simply adopt for themselves. It’s something they need to foster throughout their organization.
In this way, they create an environment where everyone in the organization can grow, enable individuals to reach their full potential, and improve the collective capabilities of their teams.
Without cultivating a growth mindset in its leaders, an organization’s potential for innovation, adaptability, and consistently high-performance, remains fixed, spelling disaster in today’s business landscape.
Applied to Sales
The impact of mindset on sales performance is profound. Renowned American author, Zig Ziglar said, “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.” That’s why, adopting a proactive, growth mindset can lead to transformative results, placing the power of influence firmly back in the hands of the salesperson.
In sales, the way you see your customers, your products, and how you sell is shaped by your mindset. Just like in a game, it affects how you react to winning and losing, getting better or not seeing improvement.
Salespeople who experience this session strengthen their belief that they can grow and improve with each experience, and are more likely to see every sales call or meeting as a chance to learn. If a customer says no, they don’t see it as a failure, but rather as helpful advice to get better. This makes them more flexible and able to deal with different types of customers and situations.
Ultimately, our mindset holds the key to our growth potential in the field of sales. It unlocks extraordinary potential by fostering resilience, innovation, and continual improvement.
Create Influence Without Saying A Word
Are you ready to take your communication skills to the next level and unlock the secret power of body language?
Learn how to read and interpret body language, understanding the hidden messages behind gestures, expressions, posture and movement. Discover how to use your own body language to communicate more influentially, build trust and respect, and achieve greater success in leadership, sales, and professional relationships
This interactive session is packed with practical strategies and real-world examples, as well as an exciting mentalist demonstration of “reading people like a book” that will leave you amazed.
By the end of the session, you will have a newfound understanding of the power of body language and the ability to use it to take your results and career to new heights.
Don’t miss this opportunity to revolutionise your communication and influence skills, and unlock the hidden potential of body language
Intelligent Entertainment Showcasing The Power Of Influence
Looking for an entertaining “show” or MC, that is totally unique?
Prepare to be enthralled, astounded and inspired as Gilan demonstrates his phenomenal abilities of influence, thought-decoding, and even “predicting” audience’s thoughts and action before they’ve realised them.
This is not just a show, but an immersive and interactive experience that will leave your guests on the edge of their seats, guessing and wondering how Gilan does it.
Don’t just stop at the show: elevate your event to the next level by hiring Gilan as your Master of Ceremonies. He will keep your audience engaged, entertained and attentive, using his jaw-dropping mentalism as icebreakers and energizers. Combining his extensive experience as a facilitator, Gilan is a professional and articulate MC who will take the stress out of the running of your agenda.
This is an experience that is perfect for the audience that craves impactful “wow” moments, with extra layers of mystery for analytical types who enjoy discovering the psychology behind Gilan’s abilities. It’s a brilliant substitute to having a comedian as Gilan’s show is loaded with hilarious interactions, and an uncomplicated audio-visual setup that delivers massive production value.
Gilan has presented thousands of times for a myriad of audiences around the world, and will ensure a perfect performance that is relevant to your audience.
ACCELERATE YOUR TEAM’S HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE
Simple to understand, but without the right tools it’s complex to achieve. Our popular Change-Mindset Assessment (CMA) is a simple, practical tool that: Measures your team’s behavior related to the 5 high-performance levers Reveals the root cause of any counterproductive behaviors Helps your team navigate to victory with a customized development path
Your session with the Discovery Health Exco last month was exceptional. Thank you. We have really benefited through the assessment feedback.
Neville Lindsay
Head of People at Discovery Health
Our SME segment leadership team was profoundly impacted by the insights the assessment surfaced about us, our business, and how we navigate into the future. It's changed how we do things, for the better. Thank you!
Andiswa Bata
Andiswa Bata
Throughout our career we do so many psychometric tests and it tends to put us in a certain box. This assessment gives you insights into your views and behaviours in a way that has nothing to do with personality type.
Danie van Niekerk
Exec Head at Indwe Financial Services
The assessment very clearly helps you to identify where your team is at in terms of their scalability, due to their beliefs and assumptions, and what interventions you need to put in place to help them level up.
Heather Lowe
Head of SME Development at FNB
I have looked at the report and it's fantastic in the insights it provides. I am still working through it in detail.
Maya Govind
Chief of Human Resources at TRT Investments
The assessment feedback helped me to drill down on my team members' behaviour and the perceptions they have about their leaders, their peers and the company itself. I'm using the assessment to great effect to assist them in becoming so much more.
Fred Du Plessis
Operations Manager at Truworths
It gave me a good idea of team members' views on things. We go about life in a certain way, but the assessment helps you consider why you're doing things the way you do them.
Jacques Jordaan
Operations Exec at Indwe Financial Services
This assessment highlighted how the culture of a high-performance team doesn't necessarily look how you expect it to look. Knowing my team's current culture benefits the team.
Leigh-Ann Brown
CEO, Chartall Business College
The assessment feedback helped me to drill down on my team members' behaviour and the perceptions they have about their leaders, their peers and the company itself. I'm using the assessment to great effect to assist them in becoming so much more.
Fred Du Plessis
Operations Manager at Truworths
Our SME segment leadership team was profoundly impacted by the insights the assessment surfaced about us, our business, and how we navigate into the future. It's changed how we do things, for the better. Thank you!
Andiswa Bata
Andiswa Bata
Throughout our career we do so many psychometric tests and it tends to put us in a certain box. This assessment gives you insights into your views and behaviours in a way that has nothing to do with personality type.
Danie van Niekerk
Exec Head at Indwe Financial Services
The assessment very clearly helps you to identify where your team is at in terms of their scalability, due to their beliefs and assumptions, and what interventions you need to put in place to help them level up.
Heather Lowe
Head of SME Development at FNB
It gave me a good idea of team members' views on things. We go about life in a certain way, but the assessment helps you consider why you're doing things the way you do them.
Jacques Jordaan
Operations Exec at Indwe Financial Services
This assessment highlighted how the culture of a high-performance team doesn't necessarily look how you expect it to look. Knowing my team's current culture benefits the team.
Leigh-Ann Brown
CEO, Chartall Business College
Your session with the Discovery Health Exco last month was exceptional. Thank you. We have really benefited through the assessment feedback.
Neville Lindsay
Head of People at Discovery Health
I have looked at the report and it's fantastic in the insights it provides. I am still working through it in detail.
Maya Govind
Chief of Human Resources at TRT Investments
The Influence Institute was founded by Gilan, as the research and training arm for his projects with global clients.
Together, we can create a brighter future where all leaders are driven by integrity, compassion, and a desire to make a difference."
- Gilan Gork