Understanding the Art of Persuasion

There’s no doubt that the skills of persuasion and negotiation are essential to anyone who wants to succeed in life. This is especially important if you have a message that you know has the power to change the world and help people to live better lives. However, what a waste it would be if the world never heard your message because you didn’t keep quiet long enough to listen and to understand what people really needed. If you like the sound of this, keep reading and find out why shutting up and listening can be the most powerful persuasion skill you’ll ever learn.

Why You Should Aim to Master the Art of Persuasion

Think of the most persuasive person you know. It may be a doctor, a minister, a friend, a talk show host, a celebrity, etc. Perhaps you’ve wondered why some people have “it” and others don’t. Those who stand out from the crowd and have the ease of persuasion have mastered certain skills that anyone can easily learn. Being persuasive to the point that moves another person to take a specific desired action is essential to any business and requires more than smooth words and a proven business system. And, wouldn’t it be great if your prospects, clients and customers didn’t analyze every single word out of your mouth? Do you visualize your prospects believing what you say and doing business with you with ease of mind? Well, it’s easier than you think with these 3 MAGIC INGREDIENTS:

•TRUST – Just think of a relationship in your life where there is a high level of trust. How hard do you have to work to get the other person to listen, understand and to take you seriously? Trust is the one element that will either make or break your ability to persuade a person. You can be the most silver-tongued communicator that ever lived, but if the ability to build trust with your listener is lacking, you are going to encounter a serious road block to initiating any desired action from them. So what is the missing link which empowers you to build trust with someone faster than anything else?

•UNDERSTANDING – How can anyone be understanding without first listening? Listening can only take place if your prospect is engaged and talking… telling you their needs, desires, and asking questions. People feel comfortable when they have the opportunity to say what’s on their mind… everyone wants to be heard. So, actively listening is the foundation of being persuasive. It is more than a notion that we have two ears and one mouth and that we should listen more than we speak. Most influential people say very few words but speak volumes. After you have successfully built trust and understanding through listening intently and thoughtful engagement, this final ingredient will cause the shift to persuasion, and without it, your prospect will not move toward the action that you desire them to take; so what is “it“?

•COMPETENCE – It’s no secret that you really do have to know what you are talking about to influence others especially if it involves money, religion, sports or politics. Delivering a reasonable presentation based on solid usable information is critical to your success. Your prospect needs to have a reason to listen to you and more importantly, a reason to want to allow you to influence them. Part of competence involves building a relationship based on VALUE. If your prospect detects that you are knowledgeable, experienced and competent… capable and willing to help them achieve certain results, you will most likely score big in the persuasion department.

Attempting to advise or lead without understanding and/or building trust is a recipe for disaster. In fact, failure to build rapport or a “common ground’ will lead your prospect to a certain conclusion: that you do not have the level of competence required to advise them. If you fail to provide adequate unique knowledge and offer your prospect value, then again, the outcome will be undesirable; while your prospect may really like you because you managed to build trust and understanding, if they sense that you are not competent, they may further perceive that you have some hidden motive and may become analytical of your intention.

If you want to be persuasive and easily gain the trust of people to the point that they are willing to take what you say at face value without over analyzing every detail of every word you say, begin by becoming knowledgeable about your offer, find prospects and engage with them with friendly questions. Be sure to actively listen to them, be understanding and careful to build report and trust. Finally, make a reasonable request (‘Will you join my business and let me help you become successful?”), and receive a reasonable response (“How do I get started?”).

My Best Advice

My advice is to practice these skills in every area of your life, not merely in your business dealings. You can practice this technique all day long in various situations. Use the art of persuasion with every person you talk to by first finding a common ground, build trust and be understanding by listening intently to them; offer advice or make recommendations and see if they take you up on it. As your confidence grows in this technique of persuasion don’t be surprised if people begin asking for your advice all the time.

Have fun today mastering the art of persuasion.