How To Be Persuasive Not Pushy

Good influencing skills are rooted in making suggestions that benefit both yourself and the person you wish to come on board with your plans and project idea.

In the past, you may have had meetings at work with those who use hard sell tactics to get their points across. This is not generally considered to be a form of persuasion, as often in these scenarios the person to benefit most is usually the salesperson and the business they are working for. If you have a product or service that you wish others to get involved with, you may be keen to find out more about influencing techniques, so you are able to expand your skills and increase business.

As previously mentioned, some managers mistake a hard sell and the use of logical arguments as 'persuasive' communication. Indeed, these kinds of techniques have proven their worth in the global market, but there are other ways to get potential clients and your firm on the same page. Before entering into a meeting where you are aware that you are required to present a case to other businesses regarding your product, it is essential to have all the details and information about it to hand.

However, influencing is more than presenting your argument in an authoritative way - it relies instead on subtle communication techniques and an ability to detect the emotional response of those in the meeting. Listeners will be more open to getting on board with your campaigns if they feel your words are based on a solid knowledge base in your topic area. Another important aspect of exerting a strong sense of credibility is the successful partnerships that you form at work.

In this way, strong influencing skills are believed by experts to be part of a process, rather than a singular event, and learning how to foster effective working relationships can help this develop. Finding a common objective with those you are meeting with helps to build a solid rapport. This is an ideal time to agree compromises and show your potential clients how your products or services benefit them and you.

As a contrast, hard sell techniques do not tend to feature much flexibility and may fail at influencing others who do not see the positives of choosing the products offered. Persuasion is not just a verbal medium; in fact it features a range of communication techniques that you may like to use when influencing others to consider your point of view. Having an open body posture is a great way to make others feel relaxed in your company and can boost feelings of trust.

Meanwhile, some people do training courses in this subject to discover their personal persuasive style, like to practice mirroring, which involves subtly reflecting back the speed of speech and non-verbal communication presented by potential clients. In addition to the way you present yourself, experts agree that using software and material that highlight your points professionally are a great way to get people on-side and understanding your objectives.

Logical thought processes are essential to the success of projects, but emotion has a place in the workplace as well in regard to effective influencing techniques. Good persuaders are adaptive in regard to the intensity they apply to their presentations and discussions. They are able to hone in on the general feeling of those attending events or one-to-one meetings. Once they have established the emotional consensus they are able to adapt their talks to suit the tone of the meeting and those attending.