Being persuasive, the ability to convey a plan or idea in such a way that inspires others to take interest and action, is an essential part of successfully leading a team. However, persuasion comes down to more than what you see on the surface layer. While enthusiasm, likeability, and confidence all play a role, the key to being persuasive is more about your audience than it is about you.
Think you could be more engaging and influential? Read the following post by Arden to find out what element of persuasion you may be missing.
Being Persuasive Demands Being Present
Being persuasive isn’t a one-size-fits-all ability. The best leaders adjust the way in which they speak to others—an audience, group, or person—based on what they know about them. This means being more persuasive to someone requires the time and effort necessary to get to know them.
When you have conversations with different people, try to pick up on patterns in the way they communicate. Do they go right to the details first? Or do they look at the big picture? Do they like concepts and talking about people, or do they prefer numbers and talking about logistics?
Fine Tune Your Talking Frequency
Once you understand how the other person operates, try on their communication style the next time you have a chat with them. If they tend to tell a story while you get to the point, try backing up from the bottom line and setting it up like they might.
Usually, if you can figure out how someone talks, you can glean how they want to listen, and that’s where you have the opportunity to make more of a direct and persuasive connection.
Persuasion & Emotional Intelligence
Building up your confidence and persuasive ability happens as you develop relationships with others. It makes sense that knowing someone helps you be more persuasive and readily able to connect. However, what about those leaders who meet someone and are instantly able to decipher their communication style and position on a topic in a matter of seconds (often not based on the words they say, but rather how they say them and other nonverbal cues)?
For that, working toward improving your emotional intelligence is incredibly important.
Persuasion Is 1 Skill Out of 5: Do You Have the Rest?
Persuasion can go a long way in inspiring and motivating your team, but it requires other essential skills in order to reach your full potential. We’ll give you a hint—emotional intelligence is one of them.
Interested in learning the other three? Check out our post on the 5 quintessential skills extraordinary leaders call on every day.
Thanks for reading this post! We hope you learned a few things about how to improve the way you communicate with others and took away some advice that you can test out in your daily conversations.
For more leadership guidance like this, you may be interested in browsing the Leadership category of the Arden blog. Have a question for us? Get in touch with Arden by filling out the form on our website or giving us a call.