How to influence people
Managers are constantly having to exert influence – on their
bosses, their colleagues, their staff and their clients, customers
and suppliers. They must know about persuading people, pre -
senting cases and resolving problems when exerting influence.
PERSUADING PEOPLE
A manager’s job is 60 per cent getting it right and 40 per cent
putting it across. Managers spend a lot of time persuading other
people to accept their ideas and suggestions.
Persuasion is just another word for selling. You may feel that
good ideas should sell themselves, but life is not like that.
Everyone resists change and anything new is certain to be
treated with suspicion. So it’s worth learning a few simple rules
that will help you to sell your ideas more effectively.
TEN RULES FOR EFFECTIVE PERSUASION
- Define the problem. Determine whether the problem is
a misunderstanding (a failure to understand each other
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