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8 Winning Approaches for Persuading Others at Work · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Every single day you'll be persuading others at work.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Improve how you persuade others and you'll save yourself more and more time and get what you want a lot more often.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And when you become a manager, a good part of your day will be spent persuading others.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: So being as good as possible at using persuasion skills at work makes your life a lot easier and less stressful.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm taking you through eight approaches for persuading others at work.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Most of you will be using each to some extent.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: To improve your persuasion of others at work, try to remain consciously aware of what you're doing while persuading others and then work on improving the approaches that you are not using as much.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: The eight approaches are firstly put yourself in their shoes.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, answer what is in it for them.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Third, show confidence in what you're asking for.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, choose your timing carefully.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, use fact more than opinion.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, plan your counters to objections.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh, introduce scarcity and exclusivity, and then eighth face-to-face wins.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on consciously improving one approach at a time.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Get better at using the one approach that you've chosen so that you use it naturally without too much conscious thought.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Then move on to the next one that you want to focus on.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: I started off being really rubbish at persuading others.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Learning how to persuade and then practicing transforms my influencing persuading skills.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can have an even quicker journey to getting good at using persuasion skills at work.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on one step at a time.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles and I've had a 25-year management career in corporate and household names such as Innocent Drinks, Fosters, EY, and Peer Consulting, all the way through to SMEs.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training shares business and people management expertise to help you improve your performance and that of your team and business.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And do visit us at enhanced.training and take a look at the courses and resources for you to improve your management skills and the outcome your team delivers.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with the first approach, which is put yourself in their shoes before persuading others at work.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: The better you know and understand the person that you are persuading, the more likely you will choose the right approach or angle and use the right words to persuade them to do what you're asking.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: When persuading a person you don't know, spend time thinking about their position, the pressures they might be under, what they need to deliver in their role, what problems they might have, etc.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: i.e.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: put yourself in their shoes as best you can.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what questions you could ask to confirm the assumptions that you're making.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Ask those questions and then listen to their response.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: When you have some understanding of what they are thinking and feeling towards the idea, viewpoint or action that you want to persuade them on, then you can start trying to persuade them.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Also think about them as a person.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do they like you to get straight to the point or do they prefer a chat about what happened at the weekend before they get down to business?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Think through what you need to do to build and maintain their trust in you.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Put yourself in their shoes when persuading your manager.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Put yourself in their shoes when persuading groups.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is such an important step to convince people to agree with you.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: The second approach is to answer what is in it for them when persuading others at work.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: The better you can present your request or idea in a way that answers what is in it for them, the more likely you will persuade them to do what you ask.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to the other person in terms of how what you're asking will help them.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Don't talk about how it will help you.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great step in how to convince others of what you want.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: For example, you want a team member responsible for stock to spend a few hours counting stock in the warehouse so that you can have confidence that the stock balance in the accounting system is correct, and this is not particularly a fun task.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: To get the other person into action, you might firstly ask them about their confidence in the stock records.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, ask them how much stock would have to be out before they start getting embarrassed.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Third, talk about random accounts being a key control and a great thing to bring up if problems with stock ever came to light in the future.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then fourth, talk about it looking better if they found the problems rather than other people in the business not directly responsible for stock found problems.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hopefully you get the idea.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what the other person will gain by doing what you ask or agreeing with you.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great step in how to convince others.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: The third approach is to show confidence in what you're asking.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Confidence is a very important factor in persuading others.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you are confident in what you're asking and confident in the outcomes desired, then the other person is much more likely to be confident and be persuaded by you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you hesitate, are unsure or have doubts about what you're asking, the other person will pick up on this immediately and start doubting what you're asking them to do.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Persuading them will be very hard at this point.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And when persuading a manager or persuading your boss, make sure you are confident in what you're asking before trying to convince them to agree with you or give you permission for what you ask.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're unsure, go over what you're asking, do more research, gather more supporting data and facts, check alignment with wider business goals, i.e.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: do everything you need so that you can be very confident in what you are persuading others to do or agreeing to.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Timing matters as I'm sure you know.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: The person has to be in the receptive mood to what you're asking them.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Choosing a time when they have the space and energy to listen to you is pretty key.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Avoid choosing times when they are likely to be distracted or interrupted.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: The more important the request, or the bigger the impact on them and the company, the longer you will need.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do your best to make sure that you have plenty of time to explain what you want, why you want it, and to go through any questions or objections the other person may have.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you persuade them in less time than you've booked in, great.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And if you run out of time, you may have to start from scratch to convince them the next time, which will cost you an additional amount of time.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Choose your timing as carefully as possible when convincing others.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth approach is to use fact more than opinion.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: When you have facts and data to back up your argument, you are much more likely to persuade others at work.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone has an opinion, so just sharing what you think does not work nearly as well as when you have a logical, reasoned argument with lots of evidence backing it up.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Facts and data are hard to argue against.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: The other party is limited to arguing how the data or facts are being interpreted or being used, which is much easier to counter.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Alignment to company strategy, objectives and goals, or the equivalent at business unit or functional level, is another way to present a course of action, an idea or a request for a decision.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: The more aligned you are to previously agreed objectives, the less a person who is also signed up to those same goals can argue against what you are hoping to persuade them to do.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Social proof is another factor you can use when persuading others.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: We all tend to agree with the group.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: If they think it's okay, then I'm safe to think it's okay too.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And when persuading others, use any information or opinions of others to increase the weight of your argument.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Try to avoid only relying on your opinion when persuading others at work.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: The sixth approach is to plan your counter to objections when persuading others at work.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: A key point of persuading others at work is to think through all the objections a person might have and come up with an answer for them.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: An example of countering objections, you know time will be an issue for the person you are trying to persuade.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: You bring into your conversation that while doing what you ask will take them an hour today, it will save their teams three hours per week, every week once it's implemented.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Think through the likely objections and address each one to persuade others at work.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: You will have objections being raised or questions asked that you have not thought through.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Think through from the other person's position before answering their objection or question.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: You're always looking to position what you want in a way that is beneficial for them.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't have a good response to an objection, say you'll come back to them on that point and then use the additional time to create a good response.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: The seventh approach is to introduce scarcity and exclusivity when persuading others at work.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: We all hate missing out on something we want.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can play on these emotions when persuading others at work.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Examples of ways that you could introduce scarcity are firstly reminding the person that you or your team can only do so much in a given day.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you could say that you only have time in the next two days and after that you're maxed out.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Third, you could say that the input and amends have to be done today before a decision is taken later on.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Examples of how you can include exclusivity are firstly, say that you've come to the person first but will have to go to the other managers if they can't commit now.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you could say that they're going to get the output or the report first and have an extra hour to prepare versus others.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or third, you could say that to your customer that this offer is only available to the first ten people who sign up.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Using scarcity and exclusivity makes the other person more likely to agree with what you want them to do and do it sooner.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Do be careful not to overuse using scarcity or exclusivity.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to come across as trying to manipulate, especially as you'll have to work with colleagues going forward.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: The eighth approach is face-to-face wins.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Persuading others is much easier face-to-face than over the phone.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: You have more feedback when standing face to face through all the non-verbal communication the other person is providing you.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you more opportunity to change your approach and or message and thus become more persuasive.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: The nonverbal communication is more than 50% of how you communicate when face to face.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: When you need to persuade others at work, get up from your desk and walk around to see them or book in a meeting.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Video calling gives you, in my view, around 80% of what you get face to face, so this is the next best communication medium if you're not able to physically meet.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Next is the phone.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: You lose more than 50% of the communication that you have when you see the other person.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: You still have the voice, the tone, the pace and the pauses as well as the words being said.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Don't use email, chat or other text-based communications to try to persuade others at work.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: You lose over 90% of the communication information available compared to the face-to-face methods.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Text-based communication is good for sending information, but very poor when persuading others.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Don't use it.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So in summary, persuading others at work is very much an art.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Building trust and being competent at what you do are very useful building blocks to persuading others at work on a regular basis.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Use each of the approaches we've covered to improve how you go about persuading others.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on improving one and then move on to the next.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: You absolutely will get good at convincing others with practice.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And as a reminder, we have covered firstly, put yourself in their shoes.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Second, answer what is in it for them.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Third, show confidence in what you're asking.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, choose your timing carefully.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, use fact more than opinion.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, plan your counter to objections.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh, introduce scarcity and exclusivity, and then eighth, face to face wins.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, please drop me an email at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.