LDRS 410: Methods and Mediums of Persuasion and Positive Influence
Student Name
Instructor: Carrie Paproski
Trinity Western University, Langley BC Canada
BA in Leadership
Date
Field Interview Report
Introduction
Persuasion can be defined as the process or act of presenting arguments that are aimed to motivate, move, or change the attitude of the audience towards what one believes in. Persuasion can be both explicit or implicit, and it may also have impacts that are either positive or negative. It all depends on the message the person persuading the audience is conveying. To understand the different persuasion methods, I will interview two people from two different industries and get their views on how they persuade their employees. The similarities and differences between the approaches taken by the two interviewees will also be looked at. According to the different techniques used by the managers, the best technique of them all will also be discussed.
Interview #1: Interviewee Name:___Caytal________ and Company __HR__vancouver Mall______
Date of Interview:_________
I started by explaining to Caytal the purpose of the interview, which is to establish how different people in different leadership positions persuade individuals such as employees and customers or other teams. Before I started asking the questions, I explained to Caytal that persuasion is the act of presenting an argument before a person of a team to motivate them to consider your view so that both of you are on the same page. The first question I asked Caytal was the techniques she uses to persuade the staff at the mall since she is the manager of cosmetics at the mall and therefore interacts most of the time with the team. She answered by saying that she uses authority as a persuasion skill. ” Being a manager, one has to be tough in that the employees must understand that there are rules to be followed, and if not, there are consequences.”
She continued to explain that this technique has been of great help since it ensures that the staff follows the rules; for instance, they are most of the time at work on time. She also explained that even though she uses the authoritative technique to persuade the employees to work hard and follow the rules, she also employs the liking technique to ensure that she is still in good terms with the employees. This way, they will readily say yes to what she wants. The next question was on what skills have helped her be able to persuade the employees. She replied by stating that some of the skills include knowing her subjects. By knowing her employees, she can establish which employees are often not collaborative and are defiant.
With this information, she can monitor them easily, and hence she can communicate with them in ways that influence them to be more cooperative. She also stated that she has communication and reasoning skills, which have enabled her to coexist peacefully with the employees and helped her reason with the employees when trying to convince them. She gave an example and explained that her communication skills enabled her to be close with the employees in that if they are late for work with a valid reason, they are not afraid to inform her.
The next question directed to her was the most important skill one should possess to be a successful influencer. “I think that having great communication skills is essential.” She explained her point by saying that communication skills enable on to find ways to reach the audience since, with communication skills, one can easily express herself and be understood by the audience. The next question directed to her was instances in which she was forced to use her persuasion skills. She went ahead and gave the situation where the company was under a financial crisis due to the loss of a shipment that contained cosmetics that were worth a lot, and hence the company could not be able to pay the staff their salaries on time. Some of the money that was expected to be generated from the cosmetics would have paid the employees, and as a result of the employees not being paid, they started threatening to sue the company. Therefore, she had to use the persuasion skills and explain to them that the delay was due to factors beyond her control and that things would resume normally after some time. The employees were convinced, and after that, they continued working normally. After two months, they were paid, and everything was restored to normal without any further conflicts.
After that, the question of how she evaluates her approach was asked. She replied that her approach is beneficial and fruitful since it has made the staff cooperate and, at the same time, have a comfortable working environment. I also got to ask her one extra question, which was how the staff felt about her persuasion skills. She said that even though it is hard to tell, she can observe that most of the team understand the strict skills she uses to persuade them since if they were to be left on their own, not much would be accomplished.
Interview #2: Interviewee Name:__Moses Allan _________ and Company ___All results bank _______
Date of Interview:_________
The second interview was with the sales manager of the all results bank located in Vancouver, whose name was Moses Allan. I started the conversation by explaining the purpose of having the meeting and stated that the aim was to learn the different ways different leaders persuade individuals and other teams. To start the interview on the same note, I explained what persuasion is, whereby I described it as the process in which a person influences others to view things from the individual’s standpoint. After that, I went ahead and posed the first question, which entailed what techniques he uses to persuade his employees and also other customers who he sells the banks the assets of the bank to. He answered the question by stating the techniques he uses, including the technique of exhibiting trust, honesty, and conversational style when persuading the employees and customers.
Some of Moses’s skills include establishing credibility, listening to other people’s opinions, and collecting data from their arguments to persuade the customers to buy the products of the bank. Another skill is reinforcing the arguments with compelling evidence and vivid language. According to him, one of the most important attributes that an influencer should have is that of being honest and making promises that can be met. He gave an example of a situation where he was in charge of selling a very crucial product of the company, which was expected to generate a lot of money.
Therefore, he had to ensure that the buyer was well persuaded for the deal to be successful. He went ahead and replied to the question on how he evaluates the effectiveness of his approach. He stated that it has helped him sell many products successfully and manage employees in the sales department. In addition, I asked him whether there was an instance when he felt his persuasion skills had negative results. He replied that there was a time when he blew a deal because he became impatient when persuading the client and ended up yelling at him. Another question was related to whether he thinks he needs to improve his persuasion skills, and he replied by stating that he needs to develop the art understanding the audience well. This way, he will be able to reach the message intended to be communicated faster.
Similarities and Differences in the Persuasion Techniques
Both Caytal and Moses use techniques that are aimed to ensure that there is clear communication between the and other teams or individuals. For instance, Caytal uses the liking technique, which helps her to be liked by the staff, and therefore she becomes easy to approach. Moses also uses the technique of showing honesty and creating trust between him and the clients, which promotes clear communication since the clients will also be free. They both value the importance of good communication skills as they state that it is essential in persuading an individual or team.
Some of the differences include the fact that Caytal poses much authority to her employees. In contrast, Moses uses the approach of allowing customers to express themselves, and he is not too strict about persuading his clients. Also, the persuasion approach of Caytal as compared to Moses is different in that Crytal foresees employees and ensures a smooth flow of operations. Therefore, her persuasion skills are used from a leader’s point. That of Moses is different in that he is not strict since he may chase some of the customers.
Interesting persuasion techniques
The persuasion technique that I found interesting was that of Moses, which entailed being honest, trustworthy, and leading the persuasion in a conversational style. The technique allows both sides to be involved fully in the persuasion in that one can know the audience well since the conversation is a two way one. Therefore it may yield the best results since the audience may see the openness of the person persuading them and then develop a good relationship that wins them to the persuader’s side.
Conclusion
Persuasion can be defined as the process or act of presenting arguments that are aimed to motivate, move, or change the attitude of the audience towards what one believes in. After interviewing two leaders Caytal and Moses, from HR Vancouver mall and All Results bank in Vancouver, I got to know some of the persuasion techniques. Some of these techniques include the use of authority, liking, and development of trust and being honest. One of the best techniques is that of being honest, trustworthy, and leading the persuasion in a conversational style since it involves both parties, and therefore it may be eas to convince individuals and teams if they are actively engaged. Some of the similarities between the two interviewees’ approaches include the fact that both techniques are aimed at promoting clear communication, and both value the importance of good communication skills in persuasion. The methods are also different in that Crystal is more authoritative as compared to Moses when persuading their audience.