Business Skills
Persuasion
Summary: Persuasion is a crucial business skill that can be learned
Persuasion is a core skill and is essential for success in many areas of business. Persuasion arises from the systematic application of communication skills.
Before meeting:
- Set goal: Clear, well-designed goals are motivating and ensure harmony between the interests of all participants.
- Manage emotions: Relaxed people are more persuasive than those who appear nervous. They are also more comfortable creating rapport and using humor to engage others effectively.
- Find common interests: People are interested in their own goals. Develop a proposal that helps them achieve their goals, and they will support it. Use empathy to understand others' thoughts, feelings and goals and develop a "win-win" proposal.
- Develop persuasion strategy: Develop a strategy that maximizes the attractiveness of the proposal. Use framing and the six levers of influence. Develop some metaphors and stories to support the proposal.
During meeting:
- Establish rapport and command attention: Be aware of the body posture, voice tone and words of others. Match their body language and voice to develop rapport. Vary your body language and voice to affect their emotions and command their attention.
- Use language effectively: Switch language styles to match your purpose at different points in the conversation. While looking for common interests, use clear, precise language. When building support for a proposal, use emotional, inspirational language.