Persuasion & Influence

The Science and Art of Effective Presentation

Bruce Hilliard

• Publisher: Woodslane Press
• Year: 2019
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9781922131102
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

The way people persuade or influence others is about to change forever. This book moves away from the traditional hit-and-miss methods of persuasion, by applying real science to this fundamental business and life skill. From a business perspective, the very practical process described in this book allows anyone to rapidly create a truly persuasive message, that is very easy to understand, and highly influential. Because this proven methodology can be used to create very real business success, it will become essential reading for leaders, managers, marketeers and salesmen. Additionally, the techniques described in this book can be used for almost any endeavour. For instance, you can apply these easy-to- use techniques to develop a winning presentation for a multi-billion dollar contract, or you can use the same types of approach to communicate more effectively with your spouse. This is the power of the universal principles described in this book.

Part 1

Introduction

Chapter 1

Presenting for Success

Chapter 2

The Big Picture

I see that everywhere among the race of men, it is the tongue that wins and not the deed.

Sophocles (409 BC)

Chapter 1

Presenting for Success

WHAT’S THE POINT?

This Chapter: • explains why business presenting has been used as the vehicle for explaining these persuasive techniques; and • describes what this book gives you.

It is one of life’s great truisms that the way we communicate with others ultimately determines the quality of our lives, and the lives of those around us. Good communication is particularly important in business, because in this environment it is often critical to change the thoughts and actions of your clients, managers, and colleagues.

In fact, according to research conducted in the United States by the top 10 executive search firms, 71% of male and 89% of female senior executives felt that communication skills were the key to their success⁽¹⁾.

The crucial element in this type of successful business communication is its ability to persuade others. For example, when communicating with a prospective client, you are typically trying to persuade them to buy your product or service. When you are speaking to subordinates, you are often trying to motivate them to behave in specific ways, or take certain actions. Alternatively, when you are communicating with your boss, you may be trying to get them to believe your information and adopt your recommendations (for example, you might be trying to convince them to promote you, because you are such a good communicator).

Persuasion / n / The act of getting a person to think in a particular way, so they believe your message, adopt specific behaviours, or take recommended actions.

A great deal of our day-to-day business communication therefore aims to transfer facts and opinions, so we can persuade other people. This includes informative communications, such as presenting a report. After delivering the report, you will not only want your audience to understand your information; you will also want them to believe your points, and use the information that you provide. In other words, you are trying to persuade them! Let’s face it; if you aren’t trying to get them to believe and use your information, you really have to wonder why you are giving it to them in the first place!

So why use a presentation?

There are of course many different ways to achieve persuasion. These range from the distribution of documents, right through to the use of well-prepared advertising campaigns. The selection of the method for persuasion is dependent on your situation. However, the cost of advertising normally limits this type of communication to circumstances in which you need to influence a very large number of people. The most commonly used methods of business persuasion are therefore generally limited to:

Documents. Written documents range from business reports (e.g. letters, memos, emails, etc.) through to glossy brochures and web pages.

Presentations. When I talk about presentations, this includes everything from a one-on-one discussion, through to a video presentation that is broadcast around the world.

Although documents are still important, the emphasis has changed over the last few years, and the use of presentations has become much more common. This is because:

They are becoming easier to prepare. Technology is coming to the aid of presenters, and is giving us much better tools for presenting our ideas. Twenty years ago, for instance, it was rare to see a graph shown in a presentation. Now, with the advent of tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint^®, they are so easy to prepare that you see them all the time.

Nobody has time to read. We all have the same problem – we are drowning in the written word, as we sift through a vast array of files, e-mails and other documents. For sheer self-protection, we therefore tend to skim through most business documents. This means that we may not devote the time needed to read text properly. Because of this lack of commitment to reading, written material often fails to persuade other people. However, many busy people will make themselves available for a presentation, and if you use the techniques described in this book, you can gain their undivided attention and really influence them.

Presentations are real communication. As discussed in Chapter 5, people have less chance of understanding the message if you don’t achieve real two-way communications. A written document cannot achieve this two-way interaction, but a well-managed presentation can.

Reading gives lower levels of retention. If our aim is to persuade someone else, they clearly need to remember the message. However, as shown by the Learning Pyramid at Figure 1.1⁽²⁾, written documents often provide the lowest levels of retention. On the other hand, delivering a message through a presentation can greatly help to get the audience to remember the point. Part 2 of this book explains some the reasons for this improvement in retention.

Figure 1.1:The Learning Pyramid Shows the amount a person typically remembers from different content

Presentations are dynamic. A good presenter can modify their message delivery, even while the presentation is underway. This helps to ensure that the presenter’s message really hits the mark, and has the greatest impact. For example, a good presenter can read the audience body language and go back to ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Part One: Introduction
• Part Two: The Keys to Persuasion
• Part Three: Pulling the Presentation Together
• Part Four: Bounding the Presentation
• Part Five: Developing the Content
• Part Six: Scripting the Presentation
• Part Seven: Putting it all into Perspective
• Notes
• Index