The Art of Persuasion

The art of persuasion, simply put, is an art of effective speaking and writing in which speakers and writers make their opinions believable to their audience through logic, by invoking emotions, and by proving their own credibility.

Persuasion has three basic types:

  1. Ethos — Is linked with morality and ethics. In this method of persuasion, writers or speakers convince their audience of their goodwill and present themselves as trustworthy. In order to determine whether a writer is credible or not, the audience needs to understand his intention and his strong understanding of the subject/topic.
  2. Logos – With this method speakers and writers use logic, reasoning, and rationality to convince audiences of their perspectives.
  3. Pathos – This method invokes and appeals to the emotions of the audience. This is contrary to logos, as it presents arguments without logic or reasoning. Many speakers and writers consider love, fear, empathy and anger as strong factors to influence the audience.

Now that we have had a short lesson in Persuasion, let’s get into real world applications. So we now know that the art of persuasion is getting others (your audience, i.e.; potential buyers or clients) to see things as you see them.  This is a key skill for sales people and entrepreneurs and it needs to be worked on and honed as early as possible in your career.

Here are some of the basic but essential skills you need to master the art of persuasion:

Art of Persuasion1.To get people attention you repeat, repeat, repeat

Most entrepreneurs and salespeople mistakenly assume that their passion for their product or service will cause their message to immediately jump above the noise of today’s information overload. In fact, most people today have developed filters to tune-out unsolicited inputs until they have heard it multiple times in both written and oral formats.

2. Be specific and speak to the needs of the prospect

Try to avoid a canned speech full of technical information that may or may not have an impact on the prospect.  Listen to what their needs are and tailor your presentation to their precise needs.  Use specific value propositions rather than loose terms like easier to use, improved and faster.

3. The use of contrasting stories make a big impact.

Stories are often more convincing and illustrative than simple statements of fact. If you can manage to integrate the prospect directly into the story, the potential impact becomes even greater. The power of side-by-side comparison of outcomes, is an effective mover of people from old beliefs to new ones. This is a skill definitely worth honing.

closing the sales deal4. Personalize your message.

Whether speaking to potential investors, partners or customers, you need to listen first to try to find a personal connection of interest with your idea, product or service. If the person is creative and intuitive, don’t hit them with a logical and analytical message (Logos). Instead, use a more emotional (Pathos) and goodwill (Ethos) approach.  Try to establish the beginning of a genuine relationship and always do some homework first if you can. Being able to go into a meeting with some insight into who you are meeting is always beneficial.

5. Entrepreneurs’ need to materialize their ideas into a prototype or demo.

Since people always put more credibility into something they can touch and feel, versus mere words and imaginings. It is important, if possible, for entrepreneurs’ to go ahead and create a prototype, or at the very least a computer simulation of their idea when presenting to investors. Remember all of the previous tips apply: do your homework, personalize, tell a story, etc.

6. Entrepreneurs must present evidence of excitement and a buzz from others

Social media is a powerful tool for testing an idea with minimal cost and risk with a huge potential for spreading and amplifying a message to the right people. The evidence of 1,000 people responding positively to a message is much more effective than you alone with a power point pitching.

I you can master the art of persuasion, and the art of reading people: their personality type, their body language, etc, you will excel at whatever you choose to do. After all, according to some experts, persuasion is the most important skill you need to succeed in business.
Closed DealHave I persuaded you??

 

 

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