The Necessary Art of Persuasion –

By Jay A. Conger
 PERSUASION
Effective Persuasion
Negotiating and learning process through which a persuader
leads colleagues to a problem’s shared solution.

What ?
More than selling products, closing deals or manipulation.
Opposite of deception

Why ?
Gone are the command and control days
Electronic communication has eroded the traditional hierarchy
 4 STEPS IN PERSUASION
Establish Credibility
Frame Goals on Common Ground
Vividly Reinforce your Position
Connect Emotionally
 4 WAYS NOT TO PERSUADE
They attempt to make their case with an up-front, hard
sell.
They resist compromise
They think the secret of persuasion lies in presenting
great arguments
They assume persuasion is a one shot effort
4 WAYS NOT TO PERSUADE

They attempt to make their case with an up-front, hard

sell.
Managers strongly state their position at the outset
and then through a process of persistence, logic and
exuberance, they try to push the idea to a close.

They resist compromise

Too many managers see compromise as surrender,
but it is essential for constructive persuasion.
They think the secret of persuasion lies in presenting
great arguments
Great arguments persuade people but only one part.
Other factors like connect to right emotional level with an
audience and communicate through vivid language that
makes argument come alive.

They assume persuasion is a one shot effort

Persuasion is a process not an event. Persuasion
involves listening to people, testing a position, developing
a new position that reflects input from the group, more
testing, incorporating compromises and then trying again.
ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY
In order to advocate a new idea, the persuader should have
sufficient credibility to get people to listen to him in the
first place.
Credibility grows out of expertise and relationships.
An expert is one who has sound knowledge on the subject,
successful stints in the past in the domain and a thorough
knowledge about their proposals.
When people feel that they can trust the persuader to act in
the best interest of others, has strong emotional character
and who has shown integrity in the past is credibility born
out of sustained good relationship with people.
WAYS TO ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY
Assessment in the area of expertise and relationship with
colleagues.
To increase expertise in subject matter, you can:
o Hire an external expert like an industry consultant or SMEs
within your organization.
o Use respected business periodicals, reports and lectures by
experts.
o Test the idea in a small scale-Pilot project.
To build relationships and increase the level of trust, you can:
o Get to know people and their views during one-on-ones.
o Try to find some common coworkers to help reach out to the
audience.
FRAME GOALS FOR COMMON
GROUND
Emphasis the benefit the audience is going to receive if
they were to listen to your idea.
If the mutual benefits are illustrated, the audience would
be more willing to listen to your idea.
Striving for and establishing a common ground will
ensure the audience wholehearted participation and will
generate a genuine interest in the subject.
Sometimes, rationalizing a decision isn’t enough to
persuade the audience.
The common ground can also be in the form of an
emotional connection.
HOW TO ESTABLISH COMMON
GROUND
Frame a solid understanding of your audience.
Use conversations, meetings to collect essential
information.
Be an attentive and sensitive listener.
Test your ideas with trusted confidants.
Pilot projects can be used to demonstrate an idea as
real time experience.
Case Study: Monica Ruffo Case.
VIVIDLY REINFORCE YOUR POSITION
Provide numerical evidence
Support with examples, stories, metaphors that have an
emotional impact.
Analogies can help understand better.
Karen Fries and Barry Linnett - Microsoft BOB –
Super Market & Restaurant Analogy
Makes the purpose concrete and memorable
CONNECT EMOTIONALLY
Show emotional commitment towards the goal
Adjust your tone with the audience’s emotional state
Study how colleagues have interpreted some of the
past events in the organization.
Robert Marcell – Chrysler Neon. “We couldn’t
compete”.
The Force of Persuasion
Not Convincing & Selling
But Learning and Negotiating
Art form that requires commitment and practice
Deemed more necessary by today’s business
contingencies
THANK YOU