“I haven’t got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out” David Sedaris
First, what is persuasion?
Some might say that it is simply “the act of persuading someone to do something.” Wikipedia says, “In business, persuasion is a process aimed at changing a person’s (or a group’s) attitude or behavior toward some event, idea, object, or other person(s), by using written or spoken words to convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof.” When we persuade someone we would like to think that they are not only going to complete the task we want but are doing so because they are “on board” with the whole idea. If so and they are persuaded then we might reasonably assume that they have made a decision that not only serves the moment but the long-term mission.
Most would say and accurately that persuasive people do three things well.
- Clarity: They are clear about the outcomes they want to achieve and are relentless in measuring activity towards the goal.
- Vital Behaviors: They focus on a small number of critical behaviors that deliver the most amounts of result and change.
- Influence: Most apply their favorite tactical influence tool repeatedly and usually out of a control psychology or authoritative style. But this will undermine their team members’ personal motivation long-term as it gets in the way of someone choosing to be the best version of themselves on a daily basis. They will act, perhaps, to keep their job over passionately engaging the mission. But those who apply VitalTalks to their dynamic also leverage a person’s “motivational” diversity. They learn to read a person and engage them through what moves and inspires them. This person works ‘”with you” and “for you” versus “against you” and just “for the money”.
Series Articles
“Did We Just Have A Good Meeting? I’m Not Sure.” (1): Leveraging Diverse Thinking & Behavioral Attributes
“Did We Just Have A Good Meeting? I’m Not Sure.” (2): VitalTalks, Clarity & Ineffective Meetings