Persuasion. Important. Because You Want People to do What You Want.
Expanding your persuasion toolbox means you will have a vast array of techniques to draw on when you are persuading.
Here are 3 scenarios of everyday situations where you will need to persuade someone in order to get what you want. What techniques would you use to persuade them?
- A. You are taking rubbish to the dump. A jobsworth says to you, as you pull up in the car, you’ll need to pay for rubble mate. It’s our policy.
- B. A colleague at work replies to your request, ‘I can’t go to the manager’s meeting on Friday for you because I am up against it’.
- C. At parent’s evening the teacher won’t do as you asked, allowing little Timmy to sit at the front of the class so that she can keep an eye on him’.
Struggling beyond please and some sort of begging? Most people have 7 go-to persuasion techniques. After which they become frustrated and typically resort to one of the negative persuasion techniques, like ‘Get me the manager’. The most common persuasion technique is time. If someone says that they cannot do what you have asked you’ll probably say something like, ‘But it’ll only take you 10 minutes’. It’s a valid form of persuasion. What if I told you that there are many more than 7? A google search will show you between 8 and 16. My research has led to identifying 78 persuasion techniques. Of which, we use about 10%. A different 7 to others, but only 7 nevertheless.
Imagine if you could double your persuasion toolbox, how much more would you be able to get done through others? Getting people to do what you need them to get done. No longer having to do it all yourself. Instead of just you getting your to do list done, an army of people willing to help.
Here are the 7 Most Commonly Used Techniques:
- Expert – Someone’s qualifications make us believe them.
- Empathy – ‘That sounds really tough’.
- Compliment – Giving compliments breaks down barriers.
- Please – Saying ‘please’ helps.
- Escalation – ‘Get me the manager’.
- Time – ‘It will only take you 5 minutes’.
- Logic – The project is a no-brainer.
- Repetition – Saying the same thing again, and again.
- Ask – ‘Would you help me to get this done, please?’.
- Image – A picture tells a thousand words.
Google 78 persuasion techniques for them all and become a powerhouse of persuasion (Which techniques did I use to open this article? Find out).
This Persuasion Toolbox article was written by Darren A. Smith for The Grocer.
