How to Sway Minds and Influence People
When I was in my late 20’s, I worked in a fancy health club in London’s Financial District. My boss, a former bodybuilding champion named Dave G, was the most persuasive person I knew. One day, I was walking out of a Manager’s Meeting with a co-worker and said, “Dave just finished telling us that nobody is going to get a raise, nobody is going to get a holiday bonus, and everyone is going to work longer and harder. And the crazy thing is, I feel great! What just happened in there??”
Looking back, I recognize some of the tools that made Dave such a persuasive presenter. While I don’t advocate withholding raises and bonuses, or working people into the ground, I do advocate you being more persuasive. And I’m happy to announce our course to teach these and other skills to make you a more confident and influential presenter: Presenting to Executives.
Tricks of the trade
So why do some speakers make you change your mind and others make you check your email? There are many factors, but our research at GrahamComm over the last 25 years has highlighted four core practices that can help anyone sway minds and influence people.
1. Prepare
When we interview C-level executives and ask them the biggest mistakes speakers make, the second most common response is, “They can’t answer tough questions” (the first is too much information).
It’s not enough to have a good PowerPoint deck. You have to battle-test your talk. This means practicing it in front of people who tear it apart and tell you why it won’t work. Write down the toughest questions and pushback you are likely to hear. Then, practice answering these items out loud. Ask your peers for feedback and repeat.
Too often, people say they didn't practice because they wanted to appear “fresh and unrehearsed” in a presentation. That’s like Steph Curry saying he didn’t shoot free throws before the game because he didn’t want to appear over-rehearsed!
2. Connect
One of the reasons Bill Clinton is such a persuasive speaker is his ability to connect with people (his 2012 Democratic Convention speech is one of the most persuasive speeches I’ve ever seen). If people like and trust you, they are more open to your ideas. This is why we often say in our presentation courses that making a personal connection with your audience is as important as getting your message across.
How do you connect with your audience?
- Get into their heads. Know in advance who will be there, what they want and what their objectives and objections are. Speak to these and you’ll have their minds and possibly their wallets.
- Ask for their input. Lobby Influencers ahead of the meeting to vet objections and hear their POV. Ask for their goals and priorities regarding your topic, then ask them for their input during your presentation.
- Use humor. Research shows that if someone thinks you’re funny, they like you. And if they like you, you’ve won more than half the battle.
3. Use Counter Arguments
Objections can be deal-breakers. If you know that people will get stuck on a certain detail, answer these points up front:
“Why do we think this plan will work now when it failed two years ago? Because our research shows that…”
“It’s true that this is an unexpected expense on this quarter’s balance sheet. But when you factor in the added revenue and cost savings, you’ll find that…”
Once you answer someone’s fears or objections, they have an open mind to clearly evaluate your argument. Pre-emptively answering these can make your presentation more efficient and ultimately more successful.
4. Speak with conviction
One CEO I spoke with had this to say about being passionate: “We are not the New York Times; we’re not trying to be objective. I may not agree with your answer, but don’t be afraid to passionately declare what you think the answer should be.”
If you’ve ever watched someone speak about something that they truly believe in, you can see it in their face and hear it in their voice. Your audience will be swayed by both your verbal and non-verbal presentation. Sell yourself before trying to sell someone else. Then say it like you mean it!
We have found over the last 17 years that just about everyone wants to be more persuasive. Use these tools above, check out our Persuasive Presenter Training, and you might find you get what you need.
In fact, here is what one of our clients had to say about the full-day training:
“GrahamComm exceeded our expectations on every level. The evaluations from the program were so good and the demand for the course so strong, we brought them back to deliver The Persuasive Presenter course at multiple offices.
The content, exercises and coaching help people inform and influence both internal and external audiences and prepare them for rigorous discussion and Q&A. The GrahamComm team was responsive, easy to work with and extremely professional. They were able to teach and empower our people from software engineers to client-facing professionals.”
–Lissa Minkin, Former VP of People, Addepar
Thanks for reading, and good luck speaking.