Credit Union Management magazine’s Web-only “Teaching Smart Money Management” column runs the second Tuesday of every month.

When CUES member Rob Givens, CEO of Mazuma Federal Credit Union, Kansas City, Mo., recommended the book Influencer (by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Rob McMillan and Al Switzler) I picked it up the same day. I read a lot, and a recommendation is not something I take lightly. Specifically, Rob had ideas on how the concepts contained in the book could be used to influence people to change financial habits.

Assuming we are all on the same page here, and the goal of financial education is not to increase knowledge but to help people drop destructive financial habits and develop productive new ones, this is a must-read. The authors have a lot to say. If you want to know why it took five people to write a 272-page book, read the book. It’s not a quick read. It’s not an easy read. It justifies the input and research of five individuals. Influencing people’s behavior, it turns out, is no simple matter.

If your members WANT to change, sure, it probably won’t take much. But if they are comfortable frequenting payday lenders, living beyond their means though excessive credit card debt, and ignoring their retirement accounts, the best financial education program is not going to help them. Influencer explains why. But more importantly, it offers some well-researched guidance on what does work.

You don’t need to influence everything, but you do need to identify the vital few behaviors that are causing the problem. For example, if your members consider a check casher their primary financial institution, what behaviors really need to change? Not everything. You need them to change their minds about the idea that getting their money early is worth 700 percent interest. Sure, you can talk, and explain it, but verbal persuasion usually doesn’t work in these situations.

If the habit that’s hurting your members is the fact they spend more than they earn, two completely different situations could be at work: Is it something they can change by cutting back, or is it a fact that they are not earning enough to pay for the basics? The first case might call for budgeting and a savings program, while the second might require coming to the credit union for a payday alternative loan, because they really can’t swing it without that loan.

OK, so you’ve done an analysis and know what needs to change. So now that you’ve determined which behaviors you want to effect change in … what’s next?

In short (and, yeah, probably overly simplified) here’s what the book says: If you want people to change their habits and choices, understand the six sources of influence (personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation and structural ability) that are causing them to behave as they do. Change the circumstances, and you can realistically expect lasting changes in people’s behaviors.

The authors are very clear that you need to focus on all of these sources, or at least multiple sources. Not just one. However, there was one concept brought up in the book that is very manageable to include in your financial literacy programs. So I’m going to focus on that, and hope you read the book to get the rest of it, because it really is worth reading.

Instead of convincing, tell a story.

Or, even better, direct a movie.

When listening to a story (or watching a movie), we let go of our defenses. After all, we’re being entertained! Everyone enjoys losing themselves in another world, another set of circumstances, another person’s life. Now that you’re not talking about ME, I’m free to draw my own conclusions, make my own judgments, and see for myself what happens when Jane Smith doesn’t bother planning for her retirement, lets her husband make all the financial decisions, and gives her young son his own credit card. I may not look at what will happen 20 years down the line in my own life. But I can see it so clearly on the page when I’m learning about the loveable Jane Smith.

This is not a new concept. Books have been written with the express purpose of getting people to change their behavior, and I’m not talking about the Bible here. Movies have been known to influence people to take action, though they usually are unintentional.

Writing a book may not be in the plans, but can someone out there with a financial literacy program incorporate story telling into it? Think short stories to include on your Web site, an ongoing series of short videos that portray a real-life situation, or asking members to share their own stories, anonymously, on a message board or blog.

If changing behavior is the goal, think out of the box, because what works for imparting knowledge may not work for helping people change lifelong habits.

Laura Enock is CEO of CUVA and publisher of www.CUcontent.com, a social media, Web site, and newsletter content service for credit unions. Sign up to receive free marketing content every week at www.CUcontent.com.