Persuasion is a skill you need every day, whether you’re negotiating a big business deal or telling your children to eat their vegetables. Try these techniques for influencing people of any age in any situation:
- Speak their language. Listen to how people express themselves, particularly when it comes to sensory words. Some people will see things (“I don’t see what you mean”), others will hear (“That doesn’t sound like fun”), and others will feel (“I don’t feel good about that.”) Use their preferred mode of expression back to them (“I see your point … I hear what you’re saying … ”) and they’ll accept your point more readily.
- Use their names. People love to hear the sound of their own name. Just don’t overdo it. For a new acquaintance, make sure you’re pronouncing it right and don’t use it before you’ve established some sort of rapport.
- Use action words. You have to ask for the response you want. Don’t ask someone to “try to” do something, or to “think about doing” it, if you need them to do it now. Be direct without being pushy.
- Get your foot in the door. You don’t have to lead off with your main point. First, get the other person’s attention and then apply some persuasive techniques: offering an additional benefit, changing your request to what you really want, or letting them turn you down now so they will be obligated to agree later.
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Get off the Wheel Systems and Procedures for Greater Profits & Reduced Stress
By: Diane Gardner
This Book is for you IF…
You are an accountant, bookkeeper, or tax preparer with employees and one of the following describes you: