Emma Dutton

About Me

Speaker on influence and all its tenets, and what can be learned about business performance from negotiating with the Taliban. Leader of a high-performing team of elite influencers, all former and current specialist military intelligence personnel who developed expertise in the most high-stakes and extreme environments, successfully influencing entrenched mindsets and organisations on intelligence operations around the globe. We collected life saving information from civilians and insurgents by building significant levels of trust and changing their perspectives. We achieved this using a set of influence skills and tools which we now deliver to individuals and businesses to improve their performance and profitability, ultimately improving the bottom line. Passionate about showing our clients a more effective way of doing business. 

After initially serving as an Engineer Officer in the RAF, I was quickly drawn to the influence capability of Military Intelligence. Over five tours of Afghanistan, I was placed in leadership and governance roles, leading teams to collect life-saving information. My job created many opportunities to use the same tools and skills I was using in interactions with the Taliban, with politicians, senior civil servants and military commanders; a realisation of the universal principles of influence that led to the founding of Applied Influence Group. I was honoured with an MBE in 2015 for my work in Afghanistan.