When people in a group have different ideas, the leader sometimes needs to use persuasion to keep the group on track. They use persuasion to get their team members to finish their work in the best way possible and on time. 

Indeed, getting a “yes” is hard, and it’s often even harder when you need to get it from people on your team. But the good news is that you can convince almost everyone. You just need to find the right way to do it.

The employer in charge of a business can change what their employees do wrong at work by convincing them. The best way to persuade someone is to let them make their own decision and help them see the bigger picture, which is the goal of the company. But how do you do that?

Let’s look at the ways to persuade people and, with the help of some real-world examples, see how you can use them in your workplace.

Use Reciprocity and Give Yes To Get Yes

Be a giver if you want to receive. This is what Robert Cialdini highlighted in his book, Influence: Science and Practice. He says that one of the best ways to get people to do what you want is to follow the rule of reciprocity. People repay in kind. Having this in mind, if you help a staff member or a co-worker who needs it, you can expect to get that person’s help in the future.

Also, most people like those who give something in return for a favour. Sometimes, one of your employees is sick, and you ask them to work on two projects at once. If they have done it, be more flexible and give them a day or two off or send them home a few hours early when there are fewer projects to do. So, the next time you ask for a favour, they will know that you appreciate their extra work and will be happy to do it. 

Remember, what you say is just as important as what you do. Saying “thank you” when someone helps you show how grateful you are and makes the person who gives the favour more likely to help you again.

When you are the one who is giving an offer, you can say, “Of course, I’m happy to help. I know how important it is to you because I’ve been in your shoes and needed help”.  By doing this, you not only show how important your job is, but you also show that you will count on their help in the future.

Show Your Qualifications in Your Persuasion

If you want to convince someone to say yes, you should show that you can be trusted. Robert Cialdini says in his article “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion” that this makes your claims more likely to be true, and they become more easily persuaded.

Managers and people in higher positions sometimes think their skills and credibility are obvious and take them for granted. But if you want to convince a group of people that your solution is the best, you should talk about the projects you’ve worked on in the past. By doing so, you show them that you are a qualified manager. 

For instance, different people on your team have different ideas about how to market an industrial food company. If you’ve done something like this before, you can show the group that you know how to do it and that your strategy has worked well in the past. This will lead them to believe and trust you more. 

Remember that the more exclusive information you give them, the more they will like you, and you can persuade them. You can tell your employees that your project results will be published in a month and that, they will be the first to know about the details. By doing this, they will be more interested in the topic and more likely to cooperate with you.

Be Consistent and Your Audience Will Be Persuaded

Your credibility comes from how valid your claims are and how clear you are about what you’re going to do. As a manager, you must set rules and keep your promises.

For example, if turning in reports on time is important to the success of the company, every worker should follow this rule, and you shouldn’t ignore the fact that some workers miss the deadlines. Everyone should know about these promises, and everyone should keep them. This shows that you are reliable, and since they trust you, they will be persuaded by you.

Create an Emotional Bond With Your Audience

Cialdini says that people are more likely to say “yes” to people they like. By appealing to people’s needs, feelings, or values, you can get them to agree with you. To persuade someone, you need to make them feel like you care about what’s best for them. Ask about their family and their hobbies. In doing so, you create a bond with them.

Here, persuasion is different from the ones that came before, which relied on the listener’s ability to figure out what was being said logically. This has nothing to do with facts or how reliable the source is. Instead, it tries to get the person to become emotional about the issue and then convince them.

In this way, it has something to do with how people feel. Emotion is a big part of how you can get your employees to do what you want. You can use this to get them to care about you as a person. When you tell stories that people can relate to, you make it easy for them to agree with you. You can also make use of visual aids and descriptive language to get people more interested in your ideas.

“Charm and disarm”

“Charm and disarm” is what Cialdini says. In this strategy, you say something nice about the person you want to convince. When you praise someone, you make a connection with them. And it helps you persuade them and get them to say yes, even if there are other reasons why they shouldn’t.

Active listening is just as helpful to a team as a compliment. To be a good listener, you have to give the person you’re talking to your full attention and thought. You can get better at listening to someone else’s thoughts and ideas if you practise patience and don’t interrupt them. If someone trusts you, you are much more likely open to persuasion.

One of the things that makes people feel emotionally connected to you is how you look. The audience’s eyes are drawn to the person’s good looks, which makes it easier for you to persuade them.

In his book Influence: Science and Practice, Robert Cialdini talks about an experiment where a man crossed against a red light and traffic. When he was wearing a suit, 350% more people followed him than when he was wearing casual clothes. So, what to wear is something you can’t just overlook. When meeting someone, it’s important to know that there are different ways to dress, formal, casual, and many other kinds. So, depending on where you are, you may choose a style. If you and the other people there wear similar costumes, you can connect with them.

Conclusion

Sometimes when you’re deciding the best strategy for your company, you have to choose one method over another and persuade others that yours is the best. So, here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to use persuasion in your workplace to keep every co-worker on board. 

Persuasion is a skill that can be learned and improved. If you want to persuade your co-workers and earn favours in return, be a giver. And when you get a favour, don’t forget to say “thank you” and show your appreciation.

Also, you can get their trust by showing your qualifications, unique knowledge, past successes, and consistent behaviour. And last but not least, if you can’t convince people with logic, use charisma, make them feel good, and dress to impress.