1 Persuasive Communication

Persuasive
Communication
“Effective persuasion becomes a negotiating
and learning process through which a
persuader leads colleagues to a problem’s
shared solution.” --Jay Conger
Four Steps in Persuasive Communication
1. Establish your credibility
Credibility comes from expertise and relationships. People are considered to have high levels of
expertise if they have a history of sound judgment or have proven themselves knowledgeable and
well informed about their proposals. They have demonstrated over time that they can be trusted
to listen and to work in the best interests of others.
2. Frame your goals in a way that identifies common ground with those you
intend to persuade.
It is a process of identifying shared benefits in which it is critical to identify your objective’s
tangible benefits to the people you are trying to persuade. If no shared advantages are readily
apparent, it is better to adjust your position until you find a shared advantage.
The best persuaders closely study the issues that matter to their TA. They use conversations,
meetings and other forms of dialogue to collect essential information. They are good at listening.
They test their ideas with trusted contacts and question the people they will later be persuading.
Often this process causes them to alter or compromise their own plans before they even start
persuading. It is through this thoughtful, inquisitive approach they develop frames that appeal to
their TA.
Four Steps in Persuasive Communication
3. Reinforce your positions using vivid language and compelling evidence.

Persuasive people supplement data with examples, stories, metaphors and analogies to make
their positions come alive. Vivid word pictures lend a compelling and tangible quality to the
persuader’s point of view.
4. Connect emotionally with your audience.

Although we like to think decision-makers use reason to make their decisions, we will always find
emotions at play if we scratch below the surface. Good persuaders are aware of the primacy of
emotions and are responsive to them in two important ways. Firstly, they show their own
emotional commitment to the position they are advocating (without overdoing it, which would
be counter-productive). Secondly, they have a strong and accurate sense of their TA’s emotional
state, and they adjust their tone and the intensity of their arguments accordingly.
Attitude Change Program
PROCESSES: The Yale approach specifies four

kinds of processes that determine the extent
to which a person will be persuaded by a
communication.
Processes
1. ATTENTION: One must first get the intended audience to

listen to what one has to say.
2. COMPREHENSION: The intended audience must understand

the argument or message presented.
3. ACCEPTANCE: The intended audience must accept the

arguments or conclusions presented in the communication.
This acceptance is based on the rewards presented in the
message.
4. RETENTION: The message must be remembered, have staying

power.
Avoid the Four Big Errors of Persuasion
The BIG FOUR MISTAKES in major persuasion projects are:
1. Attempting to make your case with an up-front hard sell.

Setting out a strong position at the outset actually gives potential opponents
something to grab on to and to fight against. It’s far better not to give opponents a
clear target at the start.
2. Resisting compromise.
Too many people see compromise as surrender, but compromise is essential to
constructive persuasion. Before people buy into a proposal they want to see that the
persuader is flexible enough to respond to their concerns. Compromises can often
lead to better, more sustainable, shared solutions.
Avoid the Four Big Errors of Persuasion
3. Thinking the secret of persuasion lies in presenting great arguments.
Great arguments matter, but they are only one component. Other factors matter just
as much, such as the persuader’s credibility and their ability to create a mutually
beneficial position for themselves and their audience (win-win situation), to connect
on the right emotional level and to communicate through vivid language that makes
arguments come alive.
4. Assuming persuasion is a one-time effort.

Persuasion is a process, not an event. Shared solutions are rarely reached on the first
try. More often than not, persuasion involves listening to people, testing a position,
developing a new position that reflects input from the group, more testing
incorporating compromises, and then trying again. If this sounds like a slow and
difficult process, that’s because it is. But the results are worth the effort.
Questions?
Thank You and
Good Day!

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Persuasive

3. Reinforce your positions using vivid language and compelling evidence.

4. Connect emotionally with your audience.

PROCESSES: The Yale approach specifies four

1. ATTENTION: One must first get the intended audience to

2. COMPREHENSION: The intended audience must understand

3. ACCEPTANCE: The intended audience must accept the

4. RETENTION: The message must be remembered, have staying

The BIG FOUR MISTAKES in major persuasion projects are:

1. Attempting to make your case with an up-front hard sell.

4. Assuming persuasion is a one-time effort.

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