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The Nairobian

Two ways to master the art of persuading people at work

The Underworld

By Tania Ngima | Apr 19, 2016

A couple of months ago, I was catching up with a group of ex-colleagues. Many had since we worked together, gone into business or partnerships. The one common thread that we all had was our agreement on just how steep a learning curve we had had in building our personal brands.

Brands are not a concept we grapple with enough when we under the umbrella of an organisation, especially one founded by someone else.

And why would we need to? In most cases a script exists for how to navigate our various roles, and there are many other people to train us and to learn from. Some of the books recommended by a friend regarding navigating one of the difficult aspects of building a brand and business; the art of convincing and influencing people have taught me some meaningful lessons.

Make it easy for people to say yes.

To my surprise, after having been a person who thinks I use logic for most decisions in my life, I discovered we tend to make decisions based on emotion than on logic. And therefore if we do not convince people’s emotional core, they tend to experience buyer’s remorse, which is not good for repeat business.

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Whatever you are trying to sell, whether a product, service or idea in the workplace, listen to people’s emotional objections instead of giving them the logical reason for why the choice you are presenting is the right one.

Similarly, ensure that if you are making a request of someone, you have done the groundwork and addressed the potential snags they may encounter in the effort to fulfill your request. People are likelier to say yes to you if it requires a minimum amount of effort on their part.

Language

Just like we are told mirroring people’s actions in say, interviews work in creating a sub conscious rapport, the same works for language. This requires keen listening skills, an ability that is essential in the art of persuasion. Use the key words the person you are speaking to is using in your conversation with them, as this creates a feeling of empathy as well as a feeling that they are not only being listened to but also heard.