Those of us who have been involved in sales tend to think of persuasion as soft selling. Persuasion can lead to successful sales, of course, but the effective use of persuasion in the business world is much greater and more complex than that.
Jay A. Conger, currently a professor at Claremont McKenna College and a senior research scientist at the Center for Effective Organizations, has had a lot to say about this subject over the years. His early piece The Necessary Art of Persuasion in a 1998 issue of the Harvard Business Review has helped set the stage since then for a flood of lectures, papers and books on the use of persuasion as a management tool.
Conger points out that the days of executives managing by decree are long gone-that todays authority-averse workers want to understand why it is necessary to take a certain action and that they need to be convinced that it is the right thing to do. He advises, Effective persuasion becomes a negotiating and learning process through which a persuader leads colleagues to a problems shared solution. It involves careful preparation, the proper framing of arguments, the preparation of vivid supporting evidence, and the effort to find the correct emotional match with your audience.
In a recent WSJ Magazine column, Amanda de Cadenet, photographer and CEO of digital media company Girlgaze, observes that, Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful. It is a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. But it requires practice-if Im trying to simply force my will on someone, demanding that they take action based on my desires, they will likely oppose that. Persuasiveness takes finesse; it takes an understanding of human psychology.
In that same column, Professor Susan N. Herman of Brooklyn Law School says, True persuasion identifies common ground so that people who may not have expected to agree with you discover that, on some level, they actually do.
Conger writes that to be persuasive, establishing credibility is vital. People need to see you as being helpful, trustworthy and supportive and see that you can be trusted to listen to and work in the best interests of others. In addition, your position must appeal strongly to the people you are trying to persuade. It is a process of identifying shared benefits. To be effective, you must be good at listening and able to gain a solid understanding of your audience. Stories which connect emotionally will help them understand your message; dry numbers by themselves do not have the same impact.
Finally, Conger reminds us, Its important for people to understand persuasion for what it is-not convincing and selling but learning and negotiating. Furthermore, it must be seen as an art form that requires commitment and practice, especially as todays business contingencies make persuasion more necessary than ever.
Jack Goodhue, management coach, may be contacted at goodhue@aol.com.