Three Ways to Be More Persuasive

Whether it is on the job or in one's personal life, being able to share a point of view and influence others can be incredibly important. We all want to be able to not only convey our opinion and perceptions, but to also be able to convince and persuade people to listen to what we have to say. As we try to change people's opinions or influence their ideas and decision-making, we stretch our persuasion skills. There are three key ways that we can improve our persuasion skills and increase the chances that others will come on board-using these skills might not guarantee persuasive success, but they can definitely improve your changes.

The most important element that affects one's ability to persuade others is credibility. This means that in order to influence others, we need to be trustworthy, believable and generally appear to be someone who is on the level. If others have worked with us and we have proven ourselves to be credible on the subject matter, this can improve our persuasiveness. For those who haven't worked with us, we need to rely on other traits to convey credibility: expertise, communication skills, our position and/or motives are all elements that can influence our credibility.

In addition to our credibility, the content or message of what we have to say is important. It is really about what we say, of course, but how we are saying it matters as well. The "case" needs to be presented in a way so that others can understand and digest what is being presented. If we can anticipate obstacles and provide answers to questions before they are asked, we may be able to persuade others with the thoroughness of the content of the presentation.

Finally, the style of how we communicate can influence how persuasive we are. How well do we match the style of how we are presenting things with the attitudes and receptiveness of the audience or group we are attempting to persuade? Consider your audience-don't just judge them based on looks or stereotypes but consider what sort of approach will likely work best with them. Consider what sort of language, materials and visual aids you use, and match your delivery approach to the attitudes and values of the individuals receiving the message.

Combining solid message content, boosting your credibility and matching the style to the audience are all strong ways to boost your ability to be persuasive.