Power Up Your Presentation Skills
Your rank in the formal power structure is buying you less influence these days, thanks to flatter organizations and cross-functional teams. That's why it's so important to boost your ability to persuade. And the good news? Behavioral scientists believe they have nailed down the essence of effective persuasion to six basic skills, all of them eminently doable. (See list below.)
In short, just about anyone can persuade others. Example: The principle of "social proof" says that people follow the lead of those similar to them, which dictates that peers wield a lot of influence. If you're meeting resistance to one of your initiatives from some of the Old Guard, ask one of their peers who supports your idea to speak on your behalf.
Caution: Don't engage in deceptive or manipulative actions in your attempt to persuade others. For example, trying to nail down a commitment without allowing people to think through the idea negates the idea of it being voluntary. Not only will people be unlikely to follow through on their commitment, but they'll resent being manipulated -– and your persuasive powers will be diminished the next time around.
Apply six principles to boost your persuasive powers
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But Avoid These Tactics
To be an effective persuader, don't engage in the following common practices, advises Jay Conger, an expert in business leadership and motivation.
- The hard sell. It rarely works. Colleagues take a strong, upfront sell as a challenge and get defensive. They start by finding exceptions to your ideas or evidence. Instead, find out what people think, see what support you have and listen to the opposition.
- Single-mindedness. True persuasion is interactive–a mutual search for solutions that offer advantages to both the persuader and those you want to persuade. Good persuaders not only listen to and understand the other's point of view but also incorporate differing perspectives into their own arguments in a manner that lets the other person feel he or she 's been heard.
- Quick consensus. Most of the time, persuasion is an ongoing effort. At the first meeting, you might convince a few teammates to consider your perspective. At the second, you may win over several to your viewpoint–but only after you alter your own position. The next week, outside events might support or unravel your efforts. Successive meetings and discussions eventually bring all the team members into agreement.
- Refusal to compromise. Compromise is not persuasion's opposite but its ally. The effective persuader considers the needs of others ahead of time and knows where compromise might be possible. Compromise is a way to show respect and share ownership.
- Brilliant argument. Persuasion is more than dazzling arguments. Truth is, finding a persuasive position takes effort and experimentation. Successful persuaders test their positions, develop new ones, retry, involve others in refining them and then try again.
- Manipulation. Persuasion often conjures negative connotations because we think of it as manipulative and self-serving. But in constructive persuasion, the outcome is always geared to the best solution for everyone.
Source: Executive Leadership Extra
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