You might not realize it, but you’re likely a powerful persuader.
Life is filled with daily situations for practicing this skill set. Promoting ideas in a team meeting, convincing friends to choose your restaurant choice, and asking your manager for a raise all require the power of persuasion.
While you’ve likely had plenty of practice, having a more thorough understanding of what persuasion is means you can leverage different strategies and techniques to effectively advocate for your needs in any given situation.
Maybe the convincing power of logic is better for manager meetings and leveraging emotion-evoking language works better on friends.
What’s persuasion?
Persuasion is a skill set that involves convincing your listener to agree with your point of view or idea. Moreover, when you persuade someone, you encourage them to take action.
That’s the key difference between convincing and persuading someone. When you convince them, they firmly believe in what you’ve said. And when you persuade them, you use logical argumentation to compel them to do something.
You might convince your coworker that your app idea is excellent — they truly think it is by the end of the conversation. You could then persuade them to work on developing it with you.
When persuading an audience, you’ll typically leverage several skills, like:
Together, your persuasion skill set helps you convince your audience your idea is best and to take action toward making it a reality.
The difference between persuasion and negotiation
While negotiation requires persuasion, the terms aren’t interchangeable. Negotiation is a specialized skill within the broader spectrum of persuasion. This skill requires you to work with two or more parties to reach a win-win solution for both sides. Sometimes, this involves persuading your listener to agree to compromise on some of their desires.
Persuasion is a one-sided endeavor, where one party attempts to sway another to agree to their terms or with their point of view. And negotiation typically involves give and take from all parties involved.
You might persuade your friend to work on that app development project with you, and this might involve negotiating with them so everyone feels they get what they want out of the project work.
That said, in negotiation, the goal isn't necessarily to convince the other party that your idea is the best, as is the case with persuasion. Instead, you aim to find a compromise that accommodates both parties' needs wherever possible.
8 benefits of persuasion in your professional life
When responsibly and ethically applied, persuasion is one of the most powerful tools for career progression, as it can help you receive raises, promotions, and networking opportunities.
And it might also help you get a new job. Based on LinkedIn data, persuasion is among the top five most in-demand soft skills, so employers might recognize your persuasive skills and choose you as the right candidate.
Here are eight more benefits of leveraging this skill set professionally.
1. Better team performance
As a manager or company lead, persuasion helps you improve team performance by influencing your direct reports to take on and feel excited about innovative initiatives.
Say you’re a sales team lead trying to gain consensus on an outside-the-box solution. You need to know how to convince various individuals to come on board and action this solution, and that might require several persuasion techniques.
2. More positive change
When facing more stubborn teammates, you might need persuasive skills to convince them a positive change is, in fact, positive. Doing so increases the chance you get to implement beneficial process and workflow changes, but it also makes other employees feel safe enough and encouraged to share their ideas.
An example of persuasion here might be an employee using rational persuasion to introduce a significant policy change, like unlimited PTO. Creating a compelling narrative around the policy's benefits and proactively addressing potential concerns increases the chance your audience approves of the change.
3. Further professional growth
Your persuasive power can be a game-changer in your professional journey, enabling you to gain visibility for promotions, manage others’ impressions of you, and convincingly share outstanding ideas.
For example, effective persuasion might help you negotiate better pay. A study of millennial workers showed that 58% had never negotiated their salary, leading to an approximate 20% lower starting salary than baby boomers.
This same study found that the two leading reasons millennials avoid salary negotiations are that they don’t know how to negotiate and fear negative consequences. Practicing persuasive strategies like leading with data and using emotional language might help you overcome these insecurities and gain the income you desire.
4. Increased productivity
As a leader, effective persuasion means you waste less time trying to convince others to start on their work. And as a teammate, you might need to persuade a coworker to help you with a project to meet your deadlines. While you should respect their workflow, if you know you can help them out later, effective persuasion means you can both complete more work.
5. More effective crisis management
In times of crisis or conflict, the power of persuasion is instrumental. Whether calming an angry customer by persuasively explaining a company's policy or convincing stakeholders to stay the course during tough economic times, these skills help you de-escalate team conflict and quickly implement win-win solutions.
6. Improved leadership skills
Perfecting your persuasion skills means perfecting other valuable leadership skills, like empathy and active listening. You also practice building trust with teammates and finding out what motivates each employee to get on board with your idea and contribute their best work.
You might need to persuade your team to work overtime on a project, but by doing so empathetically and explaining the potential benefits, you get the work done in addition to fostering a sense of unity and cooperation. Here, your ability to persuade your team influences your ability to create a more effective and harmonious work environment.
7. Stronger relationships
When trying to persuade someone, you should always have their best interests at heart. Then, the act of convincing them to agree with you is really about showing them that you care about their wants, needs, and goals.
This demonstrates empathy and understanding, which can strengthen professional relationships. When people feel heard and understood, they’re more likely to trust, care about, and respect you.
8. An enhanced personal brand
You can use your persuasion skills to manage others’ impressions of you throughout your life. The ability to articulate your ideas convincingly and influence others is a highly respected skill, and it can make you stand out as an industry leader.
And this enhanced reputation might offer you career advancement, networking opportunities, and even industry recognition. When people perceive you as confident and someone others tend to agree with, they feel you’re an authoritative and trustworthy industry professional.
The 6 principles of persuasion
While there are countless methods of persuasion, the following six principles and examples of persuasion in everyday life, identified by Arizona State University social psychologist Robert Cialdini in his book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” provide deeper insights into the building blocks of persuasion.
1. Reciprocity
This principle refers to the human tendency to reciprocate when receiving something, and in terms of persuasion, it’s a potent tool. Reciprocity builds trust as an individual and business, motivating others to give back.
If a salesperson gives you a product sample, you might feel a subconscious pull to return the favor by purchasing their product. And when you receive a compliment or kind gesture, you might feel compelled to respond equally positively.
2. Liking
Most people tend to agree with those they like, which is why building rapport and fostering healthy relationships is essential to persuasion.
“Liking” stems from several factors, like similarity (you like people similar to you), compliments (you like people who compliment you), and cooperative efforts (you like people who cooperate with you). An example is a salesperson finding common ground to relate to customers and offering compliments to build rapport.
3. Social proof
The principle of social proof underlines the human tendency to follow others’ social cues regarding acceptable behavior. If you notice a manager responding well to a coworker’s humor, you might make more jokes in team meetings.
When applied to persuasion, you can increase your persuasive power by demonstrating that other leaders agree with your idea, perhaps using a case study outlining a policy’s successful adoption at a previous workplace.
4. Authority
Most people intuitively follow authority figures. It’s why you likely trust doctors’ orders or take your manager’s suggestions. You trust the medical or workplace system and assume those who’ve achieved such professional positions know more than you.
You can leverage the principle of authority by having experts, industry authority figures, and subject matter experts back your opinions.
5. Scarcity
The scarcity principle taps into the fear of missing out. Because you don’t want to miss out on great opportunities, you might think something that seems scarce or limited is more valuable.
Marketers often use this tactic, encouraging you to buy something online because there are “Only two left!” You can leverage this principle by emphasizing what a person has to lose if they reject your proposition.
6. Commitment and consistency
Commitment and consistency are well-loved principles to live by, and people often want to stand by these principles when making decisions. They want to stick to admirable belief systems that say something good about who they are.
If someone publicly agrees with your idea, to express their commitment and consistency, they’ll more likely support it in the future. This suggests that if you can get someone on your side on a small matter, they might be more likely to continue in that direction on more substantial issues.
Tips for improving your persuasion skills
No matter your profession — be it sales exec or engineering team lead — you can hone your persuasion skill set to reach new job or career heights. Here are a few tips to help you successfully habituate these skills:
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Do your research: Facts are persuasive, so begin crafting your argument by conducting research to thoroughly understand the subject matter. Consider the implications of your suggestion as well as potentially better alternatives. And try to anticipate and form answers to objectives.
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Avoid hesitation: Hesitation suggests a lack of confidence, which might make your listener doubt your idea. Try to share your thoughts in a clear, confident manner, one that expresses you’ve done your homework and have no doubt your audience will come on board. This confidence also tells the listener you believe in what you’re saying.
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Use positive language: The language you use shapes the perception of your message. Frame your points in a positive way to influence a favorable response, like saying, "By meeting this deadline, we'll stay ahead of our competitors” instead of "If we don't meet this deadline, our competitors will get ahead."
This switch from negative to positive shows you’re solution-oriented and optimistic about this way forward.
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Mirror the listener: One way to use the “Liking” tactic is to mirror your listener’s behaviors, language, and mood. Pay attention to your audience’s body and verbal language, mirroring common phrases and gestures to build a sense of familiarity and rapport that makes them more receptive to your thoughts.
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Leverage storytelling techniques: Stories are universally enjoyed for a reason. They’re engaging, reflect a shared human experience, and help you empathize with others to like and care for them more. Leverage this shared affinity by using storytelling tactics such as emotionally-charged language and a start, climax, and end (problem, solution, next steps).
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Understand and address the listener's needs: Before you can effectively persuade someone, you need to understand their perspective, interests, and concerns. Demonstrating that you've considered the other person's viewpoint builds trust and openness.
Once you understand their needs, tailor your message to highlight how your idea or proposal aligns with them, making your argument more compelling and increasing the likelihood of acceptance.
Acknowledging any potential downsides honestly, and then explaining why you still think your idea is the best option, can also make you seem more credible and trustworthy.
Empowering influence through persuasion
Thoroughly understanding what persuasion is is about more than learning how to win arguments. You’re learning to influence your listener for the greater good, bridge gaps between coworkers, and promote a spirit of cooperation. Even more importantly, it’s about inviting others to explore a different viewpoint and feel inspired to act.
When you persuade someone, you guide them down a path they hadn’t considered. You show them what’s not working, offer the best solution, and encourage them to try it out with you. And with this new skill set, perhaps you feel more prepared to advocate for your needs and see more professional growth.
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