Tunxis Community College Tunxis@Bristol presents

1. Tunxis Community CollegeTunxis@Bristol presents CTx Spring Conference March 26, 2015 Exercising Effective Influence and Persuasion at Work  2015 Life Skills Associates LLC

2. OPPOSITION IN THE WORKPLACE: WHAT CAUSES IT AND HOW IT PRESENTS ITSELF • Poor communication and lack of understanding • Differences in personal values and styles • Actual or perceived loss of power or status • Turf issues and vested interests • Unclear or conflicting roles • “Will cost too much” and benefit not clear • “Already tried – didn’t work” • “Always done it this way” • “Will take too long” • Limited staffing or other resources • Competing priorities and goals • Fear of change • Fear of failure/fear of success • Lack of senior sponsorship or management support

3. EFFECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION: WORKPLACE SITUATIONSAND OPPORTUNITIES • You want to launch a new product/process/idea but need approval and a budget • You did something innovative in your department and want to share it with others • You need resources (time, expertise) from someone very busy or inaccessible • Someone is acting as a roadblock (with their processes, information needs, attitude, resources, etc.) • You need resources from someone in another area to help you fix a problem in your area

4. EFFECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION: WORKPLACE SITUATIONSAND OPPORTUNITIES (cont’d) • You disagree with a course of action that your manager is promoting and have good business reasons for your disagreement and a positive alternative to suggest • Someone else is being positively recognized for raising a point or suggestion that was largely ignored when you raised it • A peer is publicly criticizing your work on a project with your manager present in the room • You want to be considered for a specific professional development opportunity that several other people also want and space/resources are quite limited • Your own real-time situation:

5. NON-VERBAL AND PARA-VERBAL CUES:CONVEYING CONFIDENCE AND POWER • Eye contact • Confident handshake • Effective gestures • Dress the part • Authoritative posture and presence • Initiating interactions • Appropriate voice • Giving your full attention • Respect the other person’s body language cues

6. PERSUADING WITH POWER Attention:Get the target person's attention and make him/her/them aware of the problem. Need:Make the “business case” to the person/people you are addressing. Help them see how it affects them. Satisfaction:Explain how the solution you are advancing will meet their needs. Visualization:Enable the target person(s) to imagine, to "see" the effects of what you are describing. Action:Get the target person(s) to do something as a result of being convinced by your message.

7. CREATING RAPPORT • Building a sustaining relationship of mutual trust by meeting individuals in their “model of the world”. • It involves the ability to be on the same wavelength and to connect mentally and emotionally. • It enables you to join people where they are in order to build a climate of trust and respect.

8. CREATING RAPPORT THROUGH MATCHING, MIRRORING, AND PACING Belief and values: Match what the other person believes and values. Identity: Match the other person’s sense of identity. Strategy: Match how the other person does things. Sensory modes: Match the other person’s sensory language. Movement: Match how the other person moves. Physiology: Synchronize body language; match (mirror and pace) body position, gestures, voice, breathing, etc.

9. INFLUENCING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES • Direction • Advice/information • Interpretation • Self-disclosure • Feedback • Reason/logical consequences • Emotional appeal • Compromise • Collaboration • Verbal pacing and leading • Suggestive predicates/invitational phrases

10. IMPROVING YOUR INFLUENCING SKILLS • Establish your credibility. • Model a positive tactful tone of respect, directness, and sincerity. • Make your presentation clear and attuned to the other person’s situation. • Present strong evidence to support your position. • Listen and appeal to the other person's goals, needs, aspirations, and concerns. • Connect to the other person's underlying interests: Answer the question “What’s in it for me?”

11. GOAL-DIRECTED COMMUNICATION:DEFINITION Using communication skills and techniques to influence the thoughts and feelings of specific “target people” and to persuade them to take positive action in response to your stated needs and interests, action agenda, plan, or proposal.

12. GOAL-DIRECTED COMMUNICATION: KEY QUESTIONS • What is your objective? • What is your situation (needs, interests, goals) re: this objective? • Whom do you want to influence or persuade? • What do you want the target person to think, feel, and/or do? • How/when/where do you want the target person to do it?

13. What is the target person’s situation (needs, interests, goals) re: your objective? • What do you need to do to create a bridge between your situation and the target person’s situation re: your objective? • Where are you and the target person likely to collide? • What can you to prevent and/or deal with collisions and other obstacles or resistance if these barriers to achieving your objective occur? • Are there other stakeholders in the situation who should be included in your goal-directed communication ?

14. PREPARING TO PERSUADE: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS AND ACTION PLANNING • Perspectives: You/target person(s)/others • Objectives/desired outcome • Situation/needs/concern/goals • Expectations • Likely collision(s) • Bridging action(s)