Don’t Sell Something You Would Not Buy. It is much easier to persuade if you agree with the position you are taking. Whether your listener is an employee, a friend, or a local legislator, if your point of view genuinely matches their point of view, your job is much easier. The object of persuasion is to help your listeners come to the realization that your idea supports their interests.

 

Establish Your Credibility. The more credible you are in presenting your case, the better. Most people would accept a conclusion offered by the National Academy of Sciences before they would accept one from a tabloid newspaper. Establish your expertise by sharing your experiences and credentials, particularly advanced degrees such as a Ph.D. with a relevant concentration. Use that expertise to make your listeners truly feel that they can trust you. In my experience the best persuaders are warm and friendly, excited about their message, organized in their approach, and always honest.

 

Do Your Homework. Discover how your listeners perceive the issues, and present your information to match those perceptions. For instance, if you are looking to change hospital policies to improve lives, you need to explore the lives of patients and hospital staff members. You need to know more than demographic information; you need to understand attitudes and relevant life experiences in order to understand their self-interests and the ways in which your listeners view the world. All of this information will help you demonstrate how your ideas directly benefit your listeners.

 

What’s in It for Me? Ultimately, it all comes down to this question. Listeners want to know, “What are the benefits for me?” Persuasion is about boosting the self-esteem of your listeners. In my experience, judges, jurors, and arbitrators generally listen best to testimony and arguments that coincide with their self-interests and offer decisions that make them feel good about themselves. To promote change, you need to present your case in such a way that listeners are convinced that adopting your position will make them feel great.

 

Be Clear, Be Brief, Be Seated. Take a practical approach in structuring your presentation. Develop a theme and a consistent message and be both methodical and creative in your presentation. Always have visual support, whether it’s a pad on an easel or a PowerPoint presentation. Use the visuals to reinforce, but not repeat, your message.

 

Be Prepared to Answer Hard Questions. Know your audience, but also take time to understand the arguments from the opposite perspective. To truly gain acceptance of your position and effect change, you must be prepared to answer your critics. Look at the most successful politicians; they do not hesitate to address the hard questions.

 

 

 

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