Persuasion Strategies

democratic management practices. In such organizations, persuasion is the only viable means to get people to do what you want them to do.

Persuasion Strategies

There are many strategies that can be used to persuade others. Some of the most effective are credibility, logical reasoning, emotional appeals, social proof, and ingratiation.2 1. Credibility. You’re more likely to persuade people when they like, trust, and have confidence in you. This credibility doesn’t arise out of blind faith; it has to be earned. How? One way is by demonstrating competence—by demonstrating knowledge or ability. Another way to gain credibility is by having trustworthy intentions. When your motives are perceived as objective and honest by others, you gain credibility in their eyes. Figure 13.1 summarizes ways you can establish a trust bond with others. A related source of credibility is character—being ethical, industrious, and dependable. Finally, credibility can be enhanced through your personal charisma. If you strike others as friendly, caring, enthusiastic, and positive, people will be drawn to you. Credibility is not easy to attain, but it has controllable elements.3 For instance, it takes time to develop a reputation for competence, but you can help it along by doing things like volunteering for projects that will increase your visibility and allow you to demonstrate your talents. Similarly, you can concentrate on being friendly and thoughtful to others, conscientious in doing your work, and avoiding actions that might give the appearance of a conflict of interest. 2. Logical Reasoning. You’re more likely to persuade others when you can cite logical reasons for them to behave as you wish. People seek to be rational. Before they do something, they like to feel certain it’s consistent with their goals. If that’s not directly apparent, you need to clarify why they should think or act the way you want; that is, you need to be prepared to answer the question “Why?” This can be done by planning ahead and anticipating

Trust refers to the overall feeling of safeness that you have with another person. You make “deposits” into an emotional bank account with another person through kindness, honesty, and keeping commitments. But, if you show disrespect, fail to honor commitments, or take advantage of the other person, your trust account becomes depleted. The relationship then becomes degenerative, with hostility and defensiveness making it difficult to build up trust again. There are six major deposits to build up emotional bank accounts:4 • Understand and honor other peoples’ needs and priorities, which may be very different than our own. • Attend to little things, like showing kindness and being courteous, because they make big positive deposits in relationships. • Keep commitments. Breaking a promise can be a massive withdrawal that may prevent future deposits because people won’t believe you. • Clarify expectations so that others don’t feel cheated or violated if you don’t behave in ways that they assumed you knew they desired, even though they never overtly told you. • Show personal integrityby keeping promises, being honest, fulfilling expectations, and being loyal to all people equally, including those not present. • Apologize sincerely when you make a withdrawalwithout rationalizing or trying to shift some of the blame to the other.

FIGURE 13.1 Establishing a Trust Bond.