The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

290 / COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR TEAM

Communicating to persuade

Whether your are trying to sell a product, convince your superiors

to release more resources, convince an investor, or win a promotion,

you need a clear strategy to persuade your audience. Removing the

barriers to people saying “yes” is a two-way process.

If you want to motivate people to do

something, you first have to catch

their attention. Research shows

that we selectively choose what to

pay attention to, both as a defense

mechanism against sensory

overload, and because we seek

out messages with particular

value for us. We ignore virtually

everything else. There are two

ways to capture attention:

• Use physical stimuli, such as^
  bright lights, sound, motion,
  or color.


• Present stimuli that relate^
  directly to the needs or goals
  of those you want to persuade.

Next, you need to provide a reason

for people to act. A persuasive writer

or speaker is one who can lead

others to believe in what he or she is

advocating, and then encourage some

form of behavior in line with that belief.

This amounts to giving good reasons

for what you believe. These are

not reasons you think are good, but

reasons your team thinks are good.

Identify the needs and interests of

your team and connect them to your

message. Which of their needs are

you fulfilling? Appeal to their sense

of rationality—show why it makes

sense to act on your message. Or

call on their sense of conformity,

by showing how well others will view

them if they act on your message.

GETTING THEIR ATTENTION PROVIDING A MOTIVATION

Understanding the audience

Before you can expect your request to

be understood and considered, you first

need to understand your audience. What

are their interests, their motivators,

and their possible objections to your

proposal? Most successful attempts at

persuasion involve four separate,

yet related, steps. Following these

steps won’t guarantee success with

any particular audience, but they will

set the stage for the attitudes you’re

trying to shape in your team and the

behavior you hope will follow.

US_290-291_Comm_to_Persuade.indd 290 31/05/16 5:29 pm