Everyone, at some point, is trying to persuade someone else of something. You may be trying to lobby for a promotion at work, trying to sell your product or service, or merely trying to win an argument. Regardless of your intentions, the harder you push, the more likely people will become defensive and back away.
The process of persuasion isn’t as simple as you might think. It is a process that entails an entire gamut of viable presentation, emotional satisfaction, and a clear plan of action. Persuasion and influence are essential skills that everyone must possess if they want to strengthen their path to success. They are your stepping stones toward success. Here are five tips for effectively influencing and persuading others.
Tip #1 – It’s Them, Not You
If you want to be influential and successful in persuading others, you need to strive to understand before being understood. You always need to think about why the other person would be influenced by you. It is important to realize that it isn’t always about how good you are at persuasion, but rather about knowing what they want and how they will respond to persuasion in a particular situation.
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Tip #2 – Credibility Matters
There’s a lot of competition that you have to face daily. Authenticity and credibility have to be high on your persuasion plans. Being an expert at something always excites respect and excitement from others. Credibility is something you must possess if you want to influence and persuade others effectively. Your credibility comes directly from your experience and your past and present achievements.
Tip #3 – Effective Communication is Crucial
Now that your credibility has moved your audience to want to listen to you, if you can’t effectively communicate your ideas, you won’t be able to complete the deal. How effectively you can persuade others will depend on how powerful your communications skills are. Before you can walk the path of influencing others, you have to polish your soft skills and learn the art of tact.
Tip #4 – Always Listen First
The art of persuasion and influence is not a one-way street. You have to know your audience well to determine what areas you need to work on to hone your skills of persuasion. Listening to and understanding your audience is imperative. You have to show patience and empathy toward what others say and change your persuasive style accordingly.
Tips #5 – Practice
You can’t assume that you will automatically be able to persuade and influence anyone when you are first developing your skills. You have to practice and gain experience before you can master the art of persuasion. Practice and rehearse your presentation and determine how to create all the “or-if’ possibilities and how you can best present your proposal.
Learning how to influence and persuade others takes time and practice. Use these five tips to increase your persuasion skills and learn how to get more customers to know, like, and trust you.