Persuasion & Influence For Dummies®

Chapter 4

Putting Together a Compelling Case

In This Chapter

Getting into another person’s head

Confirming your thinking

Making your position enticing

When you want to persuade others, your proposition has to make sense to them. No matter how compelling your proposal is to you, if it fails to ignite your audience with passion – or at least a modicum of interest – your efforts to bring others on board are wasted.

People are only interested in how your request applies to them. Sad, but true. So, when you want to persuade others, you need to understand them and then position your proposal in a way that’s compelling to them. Find out about their beliefs, values and motivators (see Chapter 2). Turn to others who know them to uncover the issues they’re facing. The more you know about your audience’s desires, needs and concerns, the better you’re able to prepare and present a convincing argument.

In this chapter, I show you how to make sense to other people by appealing to their values and assuaging their doubts. In addition, you find ways of vibrantly presenting your proposal, proposition – indeed your story – with a passion that enthuses your listener and whips up support.

Making Sense ...