You hear terms like persuasion, influence, and engage your audience all the time, don't you? But what do those terms really mean? Why is persuasion so important, and how do you do it consistently? A few years ago, I was coaching a client involved in a major pitch. She said things like, "Moving forward, we will amplify the idea. But first let's socialize it within the team and set up the next steps which will give us the pillars of the project and which milestones we need to achieve first. It's obvious the low hanging fruit will be an actionable, easy first piece of the puzzle." After about 20 minutes of listening, I stopped her and asked, "What are you trying to say?" To which she replied, "We haven't really worked that out yet." I said, "Thanks for being honest, because that's what it sounds like." Everything she said sounded knowledgeable and professional, but none of it made any sense. She said, "But that's how everyone talks." Why are you doing this course? Is it to sound knowledgeable, professional, and impressive? Or is it to be effective, have an effect on people, so you can motivate them to do something that will help you both. If it's the latter, watch on. Firstly, let's clarify what persuasion is. It's the action or process of changing someone's mind or behavior to do or believe something different. To do or believe something different is the important part. Your intention when persuading someone is to get them to hear you, understand you, and do what you ask them to. Why? Because they want to. They have accepted your ideas and adopted them as their own. These communication skills, often referred to as soft skills, are anything but soft. In fact, they can be really hard because people have their own values, beliefs, and understanding of how the world operates or should operate. They accept this as their truth. Any challenge to this and they become resistant, even if the new information will help them. I used to be like that, very rigid in what I thought was the right way to do things. Then I worked alongside a coach who said in order to be a powerful influencer, you have to be influenceable; to consider different options, different sides of an argument, and different opinions, then you can confidently make a decision having considered all options. This is exactly what you're inviting your audience to do. When you're working in an organization, big or small, your effectiveness is based upon your ability to influence, to inspire action in every pitch, presentation, or conversation. Throughout this course, you'll learn the skills to influence, motivate people to accept your ideas, and act on them. These skills are crucial to reinforce you as the future thinking, global leader that you are.
