This episode and the previous episode came about after some recent executive presentations. I guess I seemed very persuasive because a few colleagues asked me for tips on how to improve their persuasion skills. So I wrote a series of blog posts. Then, on a roll, I did two live videos on Facebook (part 1 and part 2) about persuasion. Not too many people got to see the videos, so now they’re podcasts!

I’ve studied presentation skills and persuasion skills over the years. And, reflecting on all the books I’ve read, videos I’ve watched, and trainings I’ve taken,I came up with 8 tips you can use right away to level up your persuasion game.

By the way, you’ll also find these tips valuable when you have to deliver bad news, as I discussed in episode 303.

Persuasion Tips

As I mentioned in the first persuasion episode, there’s one fundamental rule about persuasion: people make decisions emotionally, and justify them rationally. This is an oversimplification, but it’s not too far off. Keeping it in mind will help you be more persuasive. The episode gives you tools you can use for both emotional engagement and rational connection.

Part 1’s content (the previous episode)

• Have a goal
• Have stories, not just facts
• Pre-handle objections
  • Acknowledge unknowns (with a plan to address)
  • Put yourself in your audience’s shoes
• Wait
• Listen and acknowledge

Part 2’s content (this episode)

• Use conversational language
• Guide the listener/user
  • Obstacles
  • Paths
• Practice

Bibliography

Here is a short bibliography on persuasion, as I mention in the episode:

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Presuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra (also check out this video of her presenting on the topic).
• To Sell Is Human, by Daniel Pink
• Made To Stick and Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath
• Two Andy Raskin articles: “Want a Better Pitch? Watch This” and “The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen”
• Copywriting guides in general. Two specific resources are David Garfinkel’s Copywriter’s Podcast and Joanna Weibe’s CopyHackers
• To sign up for the notification list for my upcoming (late 2018/early 2019) persuasion online course: secretpmhandbook.com/persuasion

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:49 — 22.7MB)

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