Change Their Mind: 6 Practical Steps to Persuade Anyone Anytime

4

Be strong

4.1 Build your strength so you don’t have to use it

Let’s be clear here: many persuasion contexts don’t need strength and often it is downright counter-productive.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll know the whole premise of the book is that it is generally something you want to avoid. If you’re a boss and demand your team member stay late (‘Why?’ ‘Because I’m your boss and I say so’), it might work once, but that relationship is going to go south rapidly. You’ve just lost a lot of relationship capital.

Let’s be clear, too, that we aren’t saying build your strength to use it.

In the world of negotiation, there is a big myth that it is all about power. But if you try to push something through just because you can – the other side may ...