The Art of Influence - Persuasion Techniques

Running head: THE ART OF INFLUENCE
THE ART OF INFLUENCE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

1THE ART OF INFLUENCE
Introduction
Today afternoon I have faced a situation where as a team leader I had to handle the
irresponsibility of one of my team members, which could create a bad reputation of my team.
Abraham Mathew like always turned up with silly excuses of why he had not been able to
arrange the power-point presentation which is due tomorrow. His reason was to do with a
small wound on his finger. The arrangement is very crucial and without that it is impossible
to present something in front of the teachers and I wish that the work is done as soon as
possible by evening. It is very tensely for a leader in a situation like this. So in order to take
control, I have to use some persuasion techniques which will influence Abraham to submit
his work due time.
The technique which I can consider is Principle of Authority. In this strategy, people
follow the lead of credible knowledgeable experts, just like students follow the commands
given by teachers or parents because of their authority. Making use of my position as a leader
and commanding Abraham to work considerably and sincerely will certainly influence him to
take the matter seriously. Leaders who take control and show their authority create an
ambience for the followers to think that the task at hand is important and should be done
sincerely. It indicates a situation of hierarchy of power where people at below must oblige the
orders given by people at above.
Even after that if Abraham still comes with further excuses, another technique which
can be used is the Principle of Scarcity. In this strategy, people want to have more of those
things that they have no or less possession of, where people are told of the benefits that they
can gain instead. By telling Abraham that if he does not do the assigned work, he may lose
his good reputation and it can also create loss for the team. He may also get low scores in this
assignment. By creating an atmosphere of personal loss Abraham may consider the pros and
cons of his behavior and take appropriate which will not affect him in future. By using these
strategies, most of the leaders and also people try to influence behavior of others in a desired
way.

2THE ART OF INFLUENCE
Exercise
Description of friend’s role
The role my friend, Martha will play is of an employee who by occupation is a relationship
manager working for 2 years in FMCG company. She has to deal with lots of customer
complaints and solve their queries. The meetings with no work life balance has made her
grow distaste in her job. She is suffering from lot of stress on the workplace and her
productivity is dropping due to such work pressure. She is thinking of quieting her job as she
feels she will not be able to take much stress and is giving up. She is therefore ready to give
her resignation tomorrow to the boss of her company.
My Role
I will be the HR Manager who will influence her to stay in the company and make her
feel better in the situation by recommending better ways to cope up with her stress. I will not
persuade her with coercion or going against the ethical guidelines of communication but will
make her feel motivated to come on the office the next day.
Timing
The timing of the conversation with her will minimum of 20 minutes and maximum
of 30 minutes. I will give her time to speak in between and understand her situation. There
will be a two-way communication channel.
Words I will use
I will use persuasive words and sentences like:
a. Please
b. I understand
c. How about you think ...
d. I will like to guide you...
e. I am totally agreeing with you...
f. It is good to hear...
g. How about you try...