Persuasion
This post is part of The Human Stakeholder in Project Management series.
Persuasion is a skill of honestly changing the attitude and beliefs of our stakeholders to help them achieve their goals. The presence of ‘honestly’ is not accidental as a common pitfall is trying to convince someone by projecting a perverse perfectionism.
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Presenting real, albeit modest, merits is likely to yield better long term results. We are more willing to accept the less than perfect when being guided with charm, transparency and confidence.
Getting a message across and winning someone’s attention doesn’t depend on volume either. With all that is going on around us, we are still responsive to certain signals. We recognise and appreciate people who can hold the attention of a room without raising their voice. Shouting gets attention but rarely persuades.
There is a fine line between persistence and nagging; the latter making compliance less likely. It is a tactic we unknowingly employed when we were little thinking that asking for the millionth time will delivery the expected result. When under pressure in adulthood, we often return to these instincts.
It is key to understand the needs of our stakeholders and what their reservations might be. Combining that with being sensitive to context and timing will allow for greater trust with the people who we are trying to impact.
