The Art of Persuasive Communication

Have you ever wished you could share information in a way that really motivates the listener to act, to buy or to use you and your services? It’s not secret. It’s just The Art of Persuasion.

The Art of Persuasive Communication

There are volumes written on the subject, but let’s break it down to 3 basic components.

First, what is your unique proposition or point you are trying to get across? Want a travel agent to carry your package or use your service? You need to prepare some valid reasons why your service, product, package AND why YOU are worth more or will bring a higher return. Do NOT tell the people listening to you all the details or all the facts. EVERY travel supplier will do that and you will just another lump of ‘something’ in the rojak.  Instead, focus on what the listener will get out of using your services or how much more they can make with you; how much easier it will be to resell your product or service. For example:

What can you do that no others can do?

What have other travel buyers loved about what you are offering? Who is paying more for similar offers in the industry but getting less?

How will the listener end up with more money, time, power, love, praise, joy, satisfaction or recognition by listening to you and buying what you are offering?

For example, we worked with Cragun’s Resort and Conference Centre in the USA. Their #1 complaint from travel agents was that they had no golf course while their top 5 competitors each owned a course. We got them thinking and in we determined that guests staying at one of their competitors needed 5 to 10 minutes to drive to the golf club from their lodging. For Cragun’s, it took them 5 minutes to 18 minutes to drive to ANY of their competitor’s club houses.  In an instant, they went from not having a golf course to offering 5 of the best courses at a discount. Their growth was exponential. They now bought out a competitor and built two more Trent Jones golf courses on that site.
Spending a few minutes to several hours thinking about what you have to offer and coming up with tangible answers will help you form a better and more unique proposition. If you can’t think of a unique proposition, you will never be able to persuade an intelligent buyer.

The second point is that communication is about both listening and presenting. Talking too fast, too slow or too much, can ruin a presentation. Likewise, emphasizing the wrong points or not emphasizing the key points can be disasterous. If you want to persuade others to use your service, work with you, support your team or follow your lead, think SET: Show – Emotion – Tell.

SHOW what you want to get across visually. PowerPoint®, posters, pictures, props, brochures, video. ANYTHING visual. 35% of the population are visual learners and will be persuaded if you can show them visually what you want them to agree to.

Then TELL the listener the reasons why it makes sense. Explaining every slide, graph, prop in detail, but not minutia. 25 % of population are persuaded in auditory terms.

Connect the SHOWING and TELLING with EMOTIONAL stories or reasons to trigger a response. “The last person I shared this with ended up with a nice ang bao to bring home to his family because…” Catch the drift on emphasizing some personal profit someone else received and if visuals and the words support the EMOTION, you have a pretty good chance of persuading the listener.

The third point, in ‘sales terminology’ is simply to, “ask for the order.” Never say, `What do you think?` That is cerebral. You want them to act. Best: “Then, with your approval, I will go forward with this so we can begin making you money; improving your selection; helping you win market-share; improve team morale as soon as possible.” It is assumptive and closes the communication.

Caution: Do not accept, “Let me think about it.” or “I will take it under consideration.” These are the same as NO! If someone wants to think about it, say, “Wouldn’t it be better to think about it while I am here so if you have any questions, I can share the reasons why you should…?”  or, from my friend Jeff Thull, “In other words, NO!” It is usually as hard for someone to say `no` as it is to say `yes`. If they say `no`, always ask `why` and push for specifics. If they have a valid reason, at least you know why. If not, it gives you another reason to push again for their agreement.

Learn the secrets of argumentation and persuasion to ensure results.

I will conduct a fantastic course and one-on-one coaching on public speaking this July.

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Got comments or questions about persuasive communication? Just leave your comments here.

LISTENING is such a common thing we rarely think about it. Most people confuse the physical act of `hearing` with true listening. Fact, good communication is more about listening than speaking.

Dr. Lyman K. Steil, founder of the International Listening Association and Author of `Listening Leaders`  is a mentor of mine, teaching me volumes about listening. Here are 3 easy ways to be a better listener.

Step 1: Predispose yourself to listen. Relax and absorb. Be truly interested in what the person is saying. Think of why that person is saying what they are saying as well as what they are trying to say. Be open. Avoid interrupting. Listen with empathy as well as logic and reason.

Step 2: Prepare for listening. If you are going to discuss a hot issue, write your thoughts down first so you are not struggling to remember your points while the other person is speaking. Keep the paper and pen handy to add more thoughts or responses rather than struggle to remember them when the other person is speaking.

In the movie `As Good as it Gets`, Helen Hunt`s character pulls the car she is driving off the road when Greg Kinnear`s character is about to share an intimate life story so she can give him her eye contact and undivided attention. THAT is preparing for listening. NOT, `Yes, I`m listening dear… hold on, I need to take this call, sorry.`

Step 3:  Proactive listening is best. Take notes. Ask the speaker to slow down if he or she is going too fast for you to catch it all. Ask the speaker to repeat what you missed, to clarify points or to go into greater depth on some points.

Get affirmation from the speaker by restating what you thought you heard. `To make sure I understand you correctly, you are telling me I need to be more flexible in regards to the deadlines for project B. Is that correct?` Doing so serves two purposes. One, it ensures you heard correctly. Two, it lets the speaker know you were listening.

Now think about the last argument you had with someone. Were you listening? Was the other person? When two people really listen… they rarely argue. They usually end up communicating effectively.

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