The Power of Persuasion: Getting Others to Believe in Your Cause

Know What You Believe

In business I’ve learned that if you can’t tell others what you and your
company do in just a sentence or two then you really don’t know what you
offer and eventually that is going to cost you business. One of the keys of
persuading others is to truly know what you believe in and why it is so
important to you. To try to persuade someone to a cause you aren’t
profoundly familiar with or you haven’t spent the time to fully explore just
isn’t going to be very persuasive. Many people are afraid of deeply evaluating
their beliefs for fear that they may find something that might rock their belief
system. The reality though is that if you aren’t aligned with your beliefs and
greater cause in life, then you’re not fully acting on your beliefs or receiving
the benefits of your beliefs either. For example, many people have very
strong beliefs about the church or high school they attended while growing
up; however a lot of those same people have not taken the time to deeply
think about why they believe what they do and what they would be willing to
lose to keep those beliefs alive in their life. Going through the process of
finding out what you really believe in will help you gain the tools, insights
and understanding of how best to persuade and communicate your beliefs to
others. By mapping your own journey in what you believe, you will better be
able to help others to find joy and passion in your cause.

Show Passion Not Obsession

There is no greater attractor than another person’s passion and there is no
greater repellant than another person’s obsession. Have you ever gone to a
party in someone’s home and been stuck and completely bored you to death
in their garage or “craft room” learning about their strange hobby or
fascination? Did you have a hard time turning them off? Did you notice that
even though you were slowly creeping your way to the door, they still didn’t
pick up on the subtle clues you just weren’t interested. Nothing turns people
off more than when a person’s obsession or desire to persuade you has them
stepping over their more natural social skills and graces. If something is truly
healthy and good for us, it doesn’t need to be extreme. Moderation and
balance in all things is the best measurement of our success. The line
between passion and obsession is a fine line and it is the difference between
being healthy and unhealthy. It’s also the difference between being able to
persuade someone to your cause or dissuading them.

Be the Billboard

The single greatest tool of persuasion you have is you! You are the message
of whatever you are trying to persuade others to do. How you act, live, love
and are with other people will be the single greatest predictor of your power
to persuade others. See yourself as your own billboard of the cause you
believe in. Billboards are predictable, stable and immovable messages that
don’t impede or get in the way or lives of others; they simply try to influence
the passerby in a non-intrusive way once or twice a day. The power of the
billboard can be seen in two simple benefits. #1 Impressions- Over time
people will eventually pick up millions of impressions of your message that
they didn’t even consciously notice or pay attention to. #2 Eventuality- when
the timing is right and the passerby needs the message being delivered, your
billboard will eventually deliver the message the person needs to hear. So
lose the hurry and see yourself as the billboard of your beliefs and trust in
the fact that simply being consistent, solid and immovable will eventually pay
off. If they don’t need your message when they pass by in the morning, just
remember they’ll be by later for another look.

Think People, Not Persuasion

In the end the only way to truly persuade another person is to connect to the
person. Nobody likes to feel like they’re being used or that they’re just
another conquest for you to conquer. To truly care about the people means
that you love and respect them unconditionally; you honor the greatness that
is within them and you’re not just simply their friend because you want
something from them. People need to know that they matter more than
positions or possessions. They need to sense you care more about them than
their performance or your ability to get them to do what you want them to
do. Ironically, once someone knows you’re truly into them, then their walls
usually come down and they’re easily persuaded to do things that are in their
best interest.