We all need to influence and persuade others, but most of us have a limited range of strategies, so we’re not effective in certain situations or with certain people.
But this is a skill that can be learnt – an essential skill for anyone in business. This interactive and engaging workshop will give you practical tools and techniques you can use immediately to get others to say ‘yes’ more often, to buy in to your ideas and to give you commitment.
What’s in it for you?
- Acquire practical techniques and strategies for influencing with impact
- Be able to get the information you need to influence others, through questioning and listening
- Increase your awareness of your own behavioural style and how to adapt to others
- Boost your confidence in getting buy-in to ideas (and persuading upwards)
- Learn how to win people over, maintain trust and make a positive impact when persuading
- Be more aware of the impact your persuasion style has and be able to vary it as needed
Workshop outline
(Full-day version, 9.30 – 5.00)
1. Everyday influencing
- Typical situations
- The difference between influencing, persuading and manipulation
- How behaving ethically helps foster sustainable working relationships
2. Rapport and trust
- Cialdini’s ‘6 Weapons of Influence’ – the seventh principle
- The importance of rapport and connecting with others
- Understanding the part non-verbal communication plays in influencing with impact
- How trust plays a vital part in influencing others to buy your ideas
- Maister’s ‘trust equation’
3. Questioning and listening
- Understanding what makes the other person tick
- How to ensure you’re asking the right questions
- Effective techniques for identifying needs, motivations and circumstances in others
- Listening at a deeper level for emotions, not just facts
4. Influencing through behavioural styles
- Identifying your behavioural style
- The importance of self-awareness, self-management and identifying your preferred style of persuasion
- Adapting your style to persuade others
- Positive intention
5. Getting others to do what you want
- Push or pull?
- How to encourage managers to see things from a different perspective
- The ‘broken record’ technique
6. Assertiveness
- Most people fail at influencing due to a lack of confidence and assertion
- What is assertiveness?
- The differences between assertive, aggressive and submissive behaviour
- Identifying different levels of assertion and assertive rights and responsibilities
- How to make assertive requests and challenge thinking and suggestions when they’re not right
- How to say no without appearing difficult
7. Presenting your ideas to get buy-in
- Six effective strategies
- Why a fact-based and objective approach, with a structured argument supported by evidence, is central to influencing
- How to take a logical structured approach when negotiating
- The power of the word ‘because’ and why it’s essential to give reasons
- How being specific helps get people to do what you want
8. Influence as ‘selling ideas’
- How are you influenced? What makes you say yes? What makes you say no?
- Selling the sizzle – turning features into benefits
- What motivates people?
9. Leveraging contrast and choice
- Why people like to have choice – but not too much
- How to make it easier it is for them to choose
- The ‘anchoring’ technique
10. Persuading upwards
- The challenges of persuading when others have positions of authority or power
- Standing your ground – how to be assertive and come across as confident with strong characters
11. Actions and next steps
- Review
- Personal action planning
- Next steps
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