How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 20

7.

Use previous opinions and behaviors
No one wants to be seen as inconsistent or a flip-flopper,
and you may be able to use this to your advantage when
trying to persuade. Highlight the past opinions and
behaviors of others to encourage them to behave in a way
that’s consistent with those positions or actions. However,
if you want to get people to change from past behaviors,
reinforce that circumstances have changed and that it’s
natural to have different opinions in the present.

8.

Smile
You’re not likely to influence anyone unless you have a
smile on your face, but that smile has to be authentic.
Humans are masters at detecting a fake smile. A genuine
smile makes you more likeable, trustworthy, and
ultimately more successful at convincing others.

9.

Keep things simple
Want your writing and speech to be the most persuasive?
Keep it simple. Studies have shown that writing is much
more persuasive when penned at the eighth grade level,
even with those who are capable of understanding much
more complex language. Simplicity makes things easy to
understand and easy to remember, and is a highly effective
tool in getting your way.

10. Focus on the positive
Even if there are negative aspects of what you’re trying to
persuade others to do, spinning these elements as positive
helps create a more overall positive view. Take this study
as an example. Researchers created three different ads,
one playing up a restaurant’s cozy atmosphere, one simply
advertising the restaurant but mentioning its lack of
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