C10.6.1 Influence continued…
Sphere of Influence
We all have our own sphere of influence. In fact, we have several! You will have a different sphere of influence in your working life than you do in your home life. If you are a participant in clubs and activities, you will have a different sphere of influence there.
To develop your sphere of influence you must first understand where the weaknesses are. They may be influencing people that are in a different department, of a higher management level than you or remote workers based elsewhere.
Successful Influencing
To successfully influence a person, you should:
- Think about their initial stance. Are they actually (or likely to be) hostile to your suggestion, neutral to it, uninterested in it, uniformed about it of supportive of it?
- Consider the issue from that person’s perspective.
- Identify areas of common ground where you think you will both agree.
- Put your point of view across in a clear manner that the other person can understand.
- Consider what you need to ask to understand this.
- Ask questions to obtain the information you need.
- Listen to the answers!
- Build your argument from this solid point.
- Attempt to bridge the gaps.
- Try to use phrases and include information that will help then agree with you. Words that help to grab attention are ones such as proven, results, guaranteed, easy, money-saving.
- Structure your argument in a logical way.
- Provide evidence to support your case (costings, cost savings, statistics etc).
- Highlight the benefits.