We Dare You NOT to Read This Article: 10 Top Tips to Become More Persuasive
by www.SixWise.com

You may not realize it, but you likely persuade someone to do something most every day of your life. Whether it involves getting your kids to eat their vegetables or making a sale for your company, honing your persuasive skills can make getting what you want a lot less cumbersome.

Want to convince your spouse that your vacation spot is the best? Persuade your coworkers that your new business plan will succeed? Negotiate a raise in your allowance?

If you want in-depth advice on how to become an expert persuader, the editorial team here at Sixwise.com highly recommends "Secrets of Power Persuasion: Everything You'll Ever Need to Get Anything You'll Ever Want."

Want the top 10 keys right now? Keep reading and you'll learn 10 important techniques to perfect the art of persuasion.

1. Know your audience.

The emotional state, morals, goals and personality of your audience all influence how they will perceive your message. Knowing as many intimate details about your audience as possible gives you insight into how you should present your message so it will be understood. You will also know what types of examples to use or stories to tell to strike a chord with them.

2. Be confident.

Studies have found that people judge a message's reliability based on the confidence with which it is expressed. Further, speakers come off as more confident the more certain they are about what they are saying. The bottom line is, if you are going to persuade somebody of something, make sure you yourself believe it first.

3. Use facts.

The best way to drive home your argument is to use cold, hard facts. While ideas, strategies and proposals can all be dismissed if a person does not see it your way, it is hard to argue with numbers, statistics, figures and other facts. Saturating your persuasive piece with facts also makes it obvious that you have done your homework on the issue and are therefore more credible and reliable. In other words, facts are the evidence you need to back up your argument.

4. Give compliments (and be charming).

The old proverb "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar" could not be more true. You want your audience to like you, so pointing out the good in them is always a wise choice. While you should go out of your way to make your audience feel good, you should avoid, at all costs, alienating any of them with insults or criticizing comments.

5. Listen.

Only when you are willing to listen to and entertain the ideas of your fellow man will he or she be willing to entertain yours. If concerns are raised about your position, always address them head-on, rather than skirting around them.

6. Remember your focus.

When using persuasion, only attempt to persuade one issue at a time. Choose your issue, then stick to it, and nothing else, in your arguments. If you try to persuade too many things at once, people may start to question your reliability and commitment to your cause.

7. Make it interesting.

Although adults are supposed to have impeccable attention spans, don't be fooled. If you are speaking to a captive audience, for instance at a seminar, you should not assume that everyone who is looking at you is listening to you. Use vivid language, gestures, visual images, various speakers and anything else that applies to capture your audience's attention.

8. Make it easy.

If you are trying to persuade someone to do something, always make it easy for them to do so. Want your dinner club members to sign a petition? Bring the forms and the pens. Want to sell your kid's cookies at work? Bring the form right to your coworkers, rather than expecting them to come to you.

9. Make the benefits clear.

While keeping the focus of your argument in mind, be sure your audience is aware of the good things that will come from agreeing with you. Say them once in the beginning and again at the end, and probably a few times in between.

10. Try a cup of coffee?

You may be well served by having that persuasive conversation over a good cup of coffee. Why? A study at the Queensland University of Technology found that "caffeine increases persuasion through instigating systematic processing of the message." In other words, the caffeine in the equivalent of two cups of coffee improved study participants' ability to process information and listen to a persuasive message.

It also put the participants in better spirits, which, researchers said, makes it more likely that they'll agree with the message.

Finally, remember that while the art of persuasion can be used in the name of malice and deceit, it is meant to be used to bring about positive changes for the good of yourself and others.

Recommended Reading

How to Argue Constructively, Effectively, and Without Hurting Your Loved Ones' Feelings

Is Your Doctor Skimping on Giving You the Best Advice?

Sources

The British Psychological Society

Habitat Magazine

Science Daily May 1, 2006