Effective—and Possibly Crazy—Tips for Persuading Anyone
Not a day goes by that you don’t have occasion to try to persuade others, whether it’s for something big like canceling a project or something inconsequential like deciding where to go for lunch. Be forewarned: Some of the following tips seem practical for the workplace; others, maybe not.
To start with, build trust by finding common ground with the people you want to persuade—ideally, before launching into your ideas. This is nontrivial; people resist even the best ideas from people they don’t trust.
In persuading others it helps if you can appeal to their self-interest rather than spouting your own. How, exactly, will they benefit by buying into your proposals and recommendations? Sometimes, appealing to self-interest is sufficient, but you’ll strengthen your case if you can provide compelling evidence of the worth of your ideas.
Successful persuasion depends not just on the techniques you use but also how you behave, even when you’re not attempting to persuade. People will be more open to your ideas if they perceive you as someone who listens actively, gives others credit for their views, and knows when to shut up or back away. How people view you will influence how effectively you persuade this time and every time thereafter.
The words you use can make a difference. The five most persuasive words in English are said to be you, because, free, instantly, and new. For example, “We’ll complete this new project for you instantly because it’s free!” OK, maybe not. Actually, I’m not at all persuaded that any specific words are necessarily more persuasive than any others.
A technique that’s reputed to help increase charity donations is called DTR, which stands for disrupt then reframe. In one study, people selling note cards who presented them as “three hundred pennies, which is a bargain,” sold many more than those who presented them as “three dollars, which is a bargain.” What’s supposedly happening is that people’s thought processes are disrupted as they decipher 300 pennies, and they are thus more likely to accept that the cards are indeed a bargain. Intriguing, perhaps. Practical? You decide.
Apparently, even the typeface you use in making a written case can make a difference. In an experiment in which a point of view was written in Baskerville, Comic Sans, Computer Modern, Georgia, Helvetica and Trebuchet, the version in Baskerville was most successful in gaining supporters, and Comic Sans was the least. Comic Sans, in fact, generated a sense of contempt in some readers.
Strange as it may seem, a touch on the arm can be very persuasive. Although I’ve seen instances in which this helped, I’d urge caution here. A touch on the arm that’s misconstrued can result in a very persuasive punch in the nose.
