Make Sure Persuasion and Influence Are in Your Toolbox

Persuasion and Influence: Essential Skills In Your Toolbox

For many business owners, persuading and influencing others is essential to their success.

Whether convincing a customer to buy a product, getting employees to cooperate, or winning over a board of directors, successful persuasion and influence are all about using the right tactics and techniques.

When Do You Need These Skill Sets?

Here are three situations in which these skills can come in handy:

Negotiating a Better Salary

When negotiating your salary, it is essential to convincingly argue your point and be persuasive to get your desired salary.

Convincing a Friend to Go out With You

When trying to convince a friend to go out with you, it is important to appeal to their emotions and be persuasive to win them over.

Convincing Someone to Do Something They Don’t Want

It is important to be convincing without being pushy or condescending when trying to convince someone else of something.

How Do You Use These Skill Sets?

Here are some useful tips for using persuasion and influence effectively:

Be Clear About What You Want

If you don’t clearly state your goal, your target will have a harder time understanding why they should cooperate with you.

For example, if you’re trying to convince a colleague to support your idea, explain why it’s important and how it will benefit the company.

Know Your Audience

You must tailor your message based on the individual or group you’re trying to persuade.

For example, if you’re lobbying for a new policy at work, know what the other employees are thinking and why they might be opposed.

Build Trust

Before anything else, you need people to believe that what you’re saying is worth their time or effort.

This means being authentic and showing that you care about them as individuals.

How Do You Make Your Point?

Persuasion and influence are two powerful tools that can be used to get your point across to others. When used correctly, persuasion can help people change their behavior or attitudes.

Conversely, influence can be used to persuade people to act in a certain way or adopt a particular viewpoint.

There are different ways to use these tools.

One way is to use emotional appeals.

For example, you might try to make your point by appealing to someone’s emotions. You could try to make them feel angry, frustrated, or sad. You could also try to make them feel proud or happy.

Another way to use persuasion is by using logical arguments. You might try to convince someone by showing them how their actions will lead to a specific outcome.

For example, you could say that smoking causes cancer and then ask the person if they want that outcome for themselves or for their loved ones.

If you want to use these tools effectively, you could enrol in influencing and persuasion skills courses.