Essentially there are four ways you can influence someone. Thisincludes assertive persuasion, reward and punishment, participation and trust,and common vision. People who are considered good at influencing actually useall four styles either consciously or unconsciously. On the surface this soundseasy, but it is more complicated than it appears.

Each of us has our favoured style and because we like to beinfluenced that way, we'll tend to use this style to influence others. Thetrouble is, the person on the receiving end has his or her own style too, andit may not be the style being used. The result is little or no influence overthe results. We've all been in that situation.

Let's briefly understand the four styles and provide an exampleof how these can be applied by an LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT professional inyour presentations.

Assertive Persuasion is based upon using logic, analysis, fact and clearstructure to persuade. For example, when giving a presentation, an LEARNING& DEVELOPMENT professional ought to clearly define what the session isabout, develop a clear coherent structure, and back up the elements of theprogramme with well founded research as an argument.

Reward and Punishment is about articulating the pros and cons of a situation.This approach is commonly referred to as the 'carrot and stick' approach.Another way of putting this is to talk about the advantages and disadvantagesof doing what is proposed. For example, an LEARNING & DEVELOPMENTprofessional could perhaps explain the benefits of such an approach toparticipants and the consequences of not doing what is suggested.

Participation and Trust is building trust with someone or a group so that theyfeel secure going with the recommendations of the person doing the influencing.For example, a good facilitator would invite and encourage participation anddiscussion from the group or individual as a means of developing rapport andtrust with the audience and on that basis become more persuasive. 

Common Vision islinking the task at hand with the 'big picture'. In an organisational sense,this means persuading people of your approach on the basis that it contributesto the overall mission of the business. For example, an LEARNING &DEVELOPMENT professional would put their concepts into context by linking theirsuggested approach with where the organisation wants to go.

You may think: "I'm doing that". But each of us islikely to unconsciously over-emphasise one of these because they are ourfavoured style. Or more importantly, under-emphasis one or more approachesbecause they are less appealing to us personally.

By consciously using all four influencingstyles in your presentations, you are likely to appeal to the distribution ofpreferences in the audience. If you don't do this, you are apt to be lesseffective and if you do apply all four styles, you enhance your capacity topersuade an audience. What do you think? We are after all in the business ofbeing professional influencers.

Tim Baker

16 Aug 2012