Asking the Right Questions

By asking questions, you control the content, pace, tone, and direction of the persuasion situation. 

Persuaders also use questions to engage audiences in a dialogue about their proposals.  In fact, questioning counts among persuaders' most effective tools.  Why?  many people enjoy answering questions.  Having someone care about what they think makes them feel important.   But the urge to answer questions also springs from the fear that others will look down on them if they avoid or can't answer a question.  By asking questions, you control the content, pace, tone, and direction of the persuasion situation.  You also determine which issues do--and don't--get discussed.

What kinds of questions best activate a listener's self-persuasion mechanism?  There are several types you can employ:

Disturbing questions get at the heart of your listeners' greatest concerns or problems.  for example, suppose you're selling a parcel-tracking software system to a courier firm that's experiencing problems with lost and delayed parcels.  You might ask your potential customer questions such as these:

"How much unproductive time does your staff spend locating lost parcels?"

"What effect is this problem having on your reputation with your clients?"

"Could this problem slow down your proposed expansion into new markets?"

These queries increase the magnitude of the lost-parcel problem in ;the customer's mind.  They make the solution you're proposing more attractive and make the listener more willing to pay a premium to solve the problem. 

ACTION POINT:  Use disturbing questions to get at the heart of your listeners greatest concerns.

Activating Audience Self Persuasion

What is audience self-persuasion?

In mastering the art and science of persuasion, you have a wide range of strategies at your disposal..  These include establishing your credibility, understanding your audience, and capturing listeners' minds and hearts-- as well as overcoming resistance and activating persuasion triggers.  But there's another even more powerful technique: audience self-persuasion.

What is audience self-persuasion?  It's a process in which you actively involve listeners in discovering the logic of your argument--in effect, getting them to persuade themselves. Persuaders use the following three techniques to transform listeners from passive recipients of a pitch to active participants in a dialogue:

Visualization

Questioning

Active listening

ACTION POINT: Use the strategies above as well as visualization, questioning and active listening to master the art and science of persuasion.  

Persuasion Triggers - Commitment and Consistency, Authority and Scarcity

Commitment and Consistency. People are more likely to embrace a proposal if they've made a voluntary, public, and written commitment to doing so. For example, 92 percent of residents of an apartment complex who signed a petition supporting a new recreation center later donated money to the cause.

To activate the commitment and consistency trigger, make others' commitments voluntary, public, and documented. Suppose for instance, that you want to persuade an employee to submit reports on time. To inspire this behavior, make a link between the commitment and the person's values (mention its benefits for team spirit). Get that understanding in writing (a memo). And make the commitment public (mention your colleagues agreement with the memo).

Authority. Many people are trained form childhood to automatically obey the requests of authority figures such as parent, doctors, and police. Authority comes from a combination of a position and its associated credentials. For example, your authority as a manager in a drug company will be enhanced if you possess medical as well as business qualifications.

Appropriate clothes or other trappings of authority can also increase the chances of successful persuasion. A businessperson who "power dresses" for an important presentation improves the odds that the pitch will be successful.

To activate the authority trigger, make sure that the people you want to persuade are aware of the source of your authority. Also leverage appropriate clothing and other trappings of authority.

Scarcity. When something is in scarce supply--such as information, opportunities, and resources--people value it more. For instance, in one experiment, wholesale beef buyers were told that they were the only ones who had received information on a possible beef shortage. The orders jumped 600 percent.

To activate the scarcity trigger, use exclusive information to persuade. For example, capture key decision makers' attention by saying something like, "I just got this information today. It won't be distributed until next week."

Be sure that the information is truly exclusive; otherwise it could hinder your credibility.

ACTION POINT: Recognize when to use commitment, authority or scarcity to assist in persuading others.

Persuasion Triggers - Reciprocity, Social Proof

...the rule is to give before you ask

Reciprocity. People feel a deep urge to repay favors in kind. This drive to reciprocate exists in all societies. For instance when, when fund-raisers enclose a small, seemingly insignificant gift in an envelope to potential donors, the volume of donations increases markedly.

To active the reciprocity trigger, the rule is to give before you ask. A small favor such as lending a fellow manager one of your staff members for a few days might be repaid fivefold when you later ask for that manager's support on an important project. In considering what to give, look for solutions that meet other individuals' interests and needs as well as your own.

Social proof. Individuals are more likely to follow another person's lead if what they are advocating is popular, standard practice, or part of a trend. A person who dresses or speaks much differently from her immediate colleagues or who comes from a markedly different culture usually starts with a persuasion handicap.

How do you activate the social proof trigger? Remember the power of association: make a connection (yourself, your company, or your product) to individuals and organizations your audience admires. Use peer power to influence horizontally, and not vertically. For instance, if you're trying to convince a group of resistant people of the merits of anew project, ask a respected company colleague who supports the initiative to speak up for it in a team meeting. you'll stand a better chance of persuading your colleagues with this person's testimony.

ACTION POINT: Give before you receive and recognize when to use the power of peers as persuasion triggers.

Persuasion Triggers - Contrast, Liking

"Flattery will get you anywhere" - Jane Russell

Contrast. Judgment is always relative. So when people make decisions, they often look for a benchmark to base their decisions on. For instance, suppose the first candidate you interview for a marketing manager position seems far too expensive when she asks for a starting salary of $89,000. Her request starts to look much more reasonable when you contrast her against the only other suitable candidate, who wants $110,000.

To activate the contrast trigger, start by creating a benchmark to anchor the judgments of the person you need to persuade. many salespeople do this by first showing you the most expensive item in a product line. This makes a mid priced item seem that much more affordable.

Liking. Human beings tend to accept the ideas of people they like. Liking, in turn arises when people fee liked by another person and when they share something in common with him. For example, at direct sales engagements (where products are sold by a company representative in a person's home), invited guests (usually friends and neighbors of the host) buy more if they have a fondness for their host and feel that they share a bond with him.

How might you activate the liking trigger? Create bonds with peers, supervisors, and subordinates by informally discovering common interests--whether it's a shared Alma mater, a passion for white-water rafting, or a love of cooking. Demonstrate your liking for others by expressing genuine compliments and making positive statements about their ideas, solutions, abilities, and qualities.

ACTION POINT: Use contrast and an appreciation of others as persuasion triggers.

Understanding and Using Persuasion Triggers

"The advantage of emotions is that they can lead us astray."  Oscar Wilde

People respond to persuasion in two ways: consciously and unconsciously. If someone's in a conscious mode, he might respond thoughtfully to a proposal, weighing its pros and cons and attending carefully to the logic and content of the message.

In an ideal world, everyone would make decisions in this way.  But in reality, many people don't have the time, information, or motivation to do so.  Therefore, they switch their decision making to an unconscious mode, and this means that they spend less time processing information.  They make decisions based more on instinct than on reason.  And they resort to persuasion triggers, or mental shortcuts, to decide how to respond to a proposal.

For example, Joe, a manager, might choose to accept a deal offered by Sue, a supplier's representative, instead of an idea offered by Bob--even though Sue's proposal is inferior to Bob's.  Why? Joe likes Sue, and she once did him a favor.

You can further erode any resistance to your ideas by using persuasion triggers strategically. 

Researchers have identified seven persuasion triggers:

1. Contrast

2. Liking

3. Reciprocity

4. Social proof

5. Commitment and consistency

6. Authority

7. Scarcity

ACTION POINT: Learn the seven persuasion triggers to erode resistance to your ideas.

Aligning Your Verbal and Nonverbal Messages

Check that your body language, tone of voice, and other aspects of nonverbal communication reinforce the spoken part of your message.

The following techniques can help:

Paraphrase: Mirror the resister’s points. For example, “So you’re saying that you think I’m just advancing the party line. Is that right?’ Paraphrasing prompts you listener to respond with comments such as, “Well, yeah—I do.” By getting the person to agree with you—even in this small way—you establish common ground, which can make the individual more receptive to your ideas.

Clarify the issues: Identify the resister’s primary concerns. For instance, “So what I hear you saying is that you have two main problems with my proposal. The first one you mentioned is probably the most important, right?’ Again you’ve established a level of understanding and agreement. You’ve also shown that you’re capable of sorting out the vital issues.

Check that your body language, tone of voice, and other aspects of nonverbal communication reinforce the spoke part of your message. If they don’t, you resisters may view you as not credible or as conflicted about your position—two things that can stiffen their resistance.

For example, to telegraph confidence in your position, check that your posture is upright, your gestures, assertive, your gaze direct, and your voice loud enough to be heard—but not so loud as to intimidate or annoy listeners.

Many successful persuaders rehears nonverbal behaviors just as much as spoke presentations. Effective persuaders also recognize when they are becoming overly emotional or angry—two behaviors that are inappropriate in many persuasion situations. They recover by openly acknowledging and apologizing for such behaviors. Having the courage to publicly admit a mistake in this way can help further establish trust and credibility.

ACTION POINT: Reinforce the verbal techniques of paraphrasing and clarifying the issues with the appropriate body language.

Overcoming resistance from Listeners

Resistance can stem from several sources.

You’ve taken steps to win your audience’s minds and hearts—and yet you’re still encountering resistance from some listeners. What’s going on? The fact is that even the most carefully thought out and emotionally appealing proposal can meet with resistance. For any number of reasons, one or more of your listeners have made up their minds, and you simply can’t sway them.

Resistance can stem from several sources. One listener may have committed to s strong position that diametrically opposes yours. Another may disagree with your idea on technical grounds. Yet another may resist for philosophical reasons; for example, he believes that commercial development should be minimized in favor of preserving park lands.

Resistance also takes many different forms—from head shaking to silent disagreement to outright verbal attacks—none of which translates into action supporting your plan. How do you move resisters to your point of view? The key lies in understanding their positions and then presenting the benefits of your idea to them in terms of what they value. The following can help:

Identify resister’s interests.
Understand resister’s emotions.
Listen to resisters’ concerns
Ensure consistent verbal and nonverbal messages.
Present resister’s viewpoints before your own.

ACTION POINT: Use the five points above to identify and overcome resistance.

Understanding Audience Member’s Decision-Making Styles

How do you know which style your decision makers possess?


To further boost your odds of persuading those who have the power to accept or reject your proposal, tailor your arguments to fit their decision-making style. People have distinct styles of decision making. There are styles, with their own characteristics, and corresponding persuasion strategies.

How do you know which style your decision makers possess? As you did when analyzing your audience’s receptivity, observe decision maker’s behavior in meetings and hallway conversations and examine their communication for hints.


If your audience includes decision makers with whom you have little or not direct contact, learn about their decision-making habits through whatever means are available, such as others in the organization, news sources, public meetings, and so on.

The five styles and their characteristics and persuasion strategies are:

Charismatic - Initially enthralled, but bases final decision on balanced information. May mislead you into thinking ;you’ve scored an immediate success. - Focus discussion on results. Make simple, straightforward arguments. Use visual aids to demonstrate features and benefits of proposal.


Thinker – Cerebral, logical, and risk-averse. Needs extensive detail - Gather as much supporting data as possible. Use a fact based approach t o persuasion.

Skeptic – Challenges every data point. Decides based on gut feelings. – Establish as much credibility as possible. At the beginning of a meeting, invite them to challenge you—indicating that you value their ideas and will sue them to create the final idea or proposal.


Follower – Relies on own or others’ past decisions to make choices. Takes plenty of time to decide whether to adopt idea. Follows the lead of bosses or others who are politically important. - Focus on proven methods such as testimonials. Understand whom they like to follow or defer to, and get that persons support.

Controller – Unemotional and analytical. Abhors uncertainty. Inclined to implement only their own ideas. – ensure that your argument is sound and well structured. Identify outcome of value to them.


ACTION POINT: Understand the decision making styles of the audience you are trying to persuade.

Audience Receptivity and Persuasion Strategies

Audiences generally fall within one of six categories of receptivity.

The table “Audience receptivity and persuasion strategies” shows these categories, along with their corresponding persuasion strategies.

Audience type Persuasion Strategies
Hostile-Disagrees with you Use humor or a story to warm them up
Focus on areas you agree on
Demonstrate your expertise, and cite experts
Support statements with solid evidence.
Stress that you’re looking for a win-win
Identify benefits they would value

Neutral-Understands your position Spell out your proposition's benefits to listeners
but still needs convincing
Present just three clear, compelling points backed by expert evidence, data, and concrete examples
Use stores, personal experiences, and
anecdotes to appeal to their emotions
Point out any downsides of not accepting your proposal
Discuss the alternatives you've considered

Uninterested--informed about your Grab their attention with a heart-stopping story
subject but doesn't care about it
Show how the topic affects them
Support your case with three to five compelling facts
backed by expert testimony or statistics.

Uninformed--lacks information
needed to become convinced Establish your credibility by showcasing your
experience
Keep your presentation simple
Create an emotional link by sharing several
personal anecdotes

Supportive--already agrees with you Recharge their enthusiasm with success
stories and vivid testimonials
Help them anticipate and refute possible
arguments from opponents
Hand out a detailed action plan with clear
deadlines

Mixed--contains a cross section of
attitudes and views Identify listeners whom you most have to win over
and who have the most power
Appeal to different subgroups with different
messages
Avoid promising everything to everyone


ACTION POINT: Understand your audience type and use the appropriate persuasion strategy

Analyzing listeners’ Receptivity

Receptivity - an audience’s openness to a persuader and his or her ideas.

Audiences differ in what they know about your proposal or idea, how interested they are in what you have to say, and how strongly they support your views—all of which influence their receptivity. To analyze audience receptivity, take these actions:

Monitor reactions. Look for signs of openness or resistance to you or your ideas in e-mails and other formal or informal communication from you intended listeners.
Assess body language. Notice your listeners’ tone of voice and body language during casual conversations and other brief, informal exchanges. Does your intended audience seem interested in your ideas? Distracted by other concerns? Skeptical?

Talk with others. Identify key influencers and other individuals who have a finger on the pulse of your audience’s moods and expectations regarding important upcoming developments in the company. Ask these individuals for their thoughts about your listener’s likely receptivity to your idea. Ask them what they and the key decision makers and stakeholders value and care bout most, as well as what benefits they see in your idea.


ACTION POINT: Monitor reactions, identify body language and get input from others to best understand your audience.

Understanding Your Audience

In either case, your true audience usually consists of several kinds of people

In some persuasion situations, you present your proposal to one person; in others, to several or many individuals at a time. In either case, your true audience usually consists of several kinds of people; decision makers (people who approve or reject your idea), key stakeholders (those directly affected by the acceptance of your proposal), and influencers those who can influence or persuade the stakeholders and decisions makers).

Most persuasion situations involve several decision makers. For example, if you want to hire an additional employee for your unit and you’re lobbying your supervisor for the funds, he may not be the only decision maker you need to persuade. His boss may have the final say on new hires.

To identify key stakeholders, think of all the individuals who stand to be affected by acceptance of your proposal. In most cases, key stakeholders include not only the person to whom you’re presenting your proposal but also individuals such as peers, subordinate, customers, superiors, and board members.

Influencers often participate in the decision-making process by providing advice and information to key stakeholders and decision makers. For example, if you’re trying to persuade a marketing manager to launch a new Web campaign, she might invite the head of information technology to participate in a meeting so that she can ask him questions and get his opinion on the matter. The head of IT in this case is an influencer.

ACTION POINT: Identify all of the individuals that make up your true audience for your persuasion situation.

Building Your Credibility

Credibility = Trust + Expertise

Credibility is the cornerstone of persuasion. Without it, your audience won’t commit time or resources to considering your idea or proposal. Your credibility manifests itself on two levels:
Your ideas. Are your ideas sound? For example, does your notion for a new product make sense in light of current market conditions and business concerns? Have you thought through the ramifications?

You as a person. Are you believable? Trustworthy? Sincere? Have you proven yourself knowledgeable and well informed? For instance, if you’ve proposed a new product, do you have a solid understanding of its specifications, target markets, customers, and competition? Can others perceive that understanding?

Credibility can be expressed as this simple, powerful formula:
Credibility = Trust + Expertise

ACTION POINT: The more trust you earn and expertise you accumulate, the more credible you and your ideas become.

Ethical Considerations

“To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.” – Edward R. Murrow

Persuasion is most effective when it’s based on mutual gain and ethical behaviors. Ethical persuaders recognize the opportunities for mutual gain inherent in any situation. They legitimately leverage these opportunities to create win-win solutions. They also consider the long-term implications of everything they do. They know that the unethical tactics can instantly destroy a reputation of trust and credibility built over years.

Unfortunately, some persuaders use unethical behaviors. They exploit opportunities to deceive and manipulate others. For them, persuasion is a contest in which they win—and you lose. Such individuals focus on closing the short-term deal. They don’t care how their behavior today might damage their reputation tomorrow. And they fail to build proposals based on mutual gain. In the long term, of course, these are losing strategies.

ACTION POINT: Avoid unethical behavior and focus on mutual gain and long term implications when using persuasion.

Key Elements of Persuasion

Skilled persuaders engage in a mutual process of learning and negotiating with their audience.

Persuasion is a complex process that requires careful preparation, back-and-forth dialogue, and a deep understanding how people make decisions. Skilled persuaders engage in a mutual process of learning and negotiating with their audience. They focus on these four critical areas:

Credibility. Skilled persuaders establish their own credibility by acquiring expertise as well as building a cultivating positive, trusting relationships.

Common ground. Effective persuaders frame goals on common ground, describing the benefits of the position they’re advocating in terms of what they value and what others value.

Supporting information. Persuasive managers reinforce their positions with striking data mixed with compelling stories, examples, and images.

Deep understand of emotion. Talented persuaders understand and connect with the feelings of their audience.

ACTION POINT: Study the four critical areas of persuasion: credibility, common ground, supporting information and deeply understanding emotion.

Why is Persuasion Important?

The best way to shape the future is to influence it. – Harry Mills

The applications of persuasion are virtually infinite. An employee lobbying for a pay raise, a sales manager pitching the benefits of a new product line to a customer, a purchasing manager convincing a supplier to expedite shipment of an order—these are only a few examples of persuasion situations. Many people, without even realizing it, draw on their persuasion skills every day.

Profound changes in the business world have made persuasion a more critical managerial skill than ever. Her are examples:

The days of command-and-control leadership style have given way to a business world increasingly characterized by cross-functional teams or peers, joint ventures, and inter-company partnerships.

In some countries, many young people now entering the workforce have come to maturity questioning authority.

With the advent of electronic communication a globalization, ideas and people are flowing more freely than ever within and across organizations.

Clearly, formal authority no longer gets managers as far as it used to. To do their jobs—accomplishing worth through others—managers must persuade others rather than simply issue orders.

ACTION POINT: Understand the role of persuasion in accomplishing work through others.

Understanding Persuasion

In many ways, persuasion blends art and science.

Talented persuaders have the power to capture an audience, sway others opinions, and convert opponents to their cause. They wield influence and eloquence to convince others to align with their perspectives, support their positions or ideas, and help implement their solutions.

Persuasion is a process that enables you to change or reinforce other’s attitudes, opinions, or behaviors. It can take place in a singe meeting or over time through a series of discussions. Persuasion is a skill that’s essential for success in all relationships—personal and business alike. What’s more, persuasion is a matter not only of making a rational case but also of presenting information in a way that appeals to fundamental human emotions. It’s about positioning an idea, approach, or solution in what that appeals to the people who are affected by it.

In many ways, persuasion blends art and science. It’s an art in that it requires the ability to establish trust and strong communication skills. It’s a science in that it hinges on the disciplined collection and analysis of information and solidly researched principles of human behavior. By leveraging proven techniques, anyone can enhance his or her persuasion skills.

ACTION POINT: Study the art and science of persuasion to improve your skills of persuasion.