How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 56

In order to encode a message properly, you have to think about what the
other person will need in order to understand, or decode, the message. Are
you sharing all the information that is necessary to get the full picture?
Have you made assumptions that may not be correct? Are you using the
best form of sending it in order to ensure the best chance of the message
being properly received? Are there cultural, environmental, or language
differences between you and the other party that could cause
miscommunication?
Of course, to encode a message properly, you have to know who your
audience is. You need to have an understanding of what they know and
what they need to know in order to send a complete message. You need to
use language they will understand and a context that is familiar. One
simple example of how you can do this is being sure to spell out
acronyms. We sometimes forget that not everyone is familiar with the
acronyms that we may use on a regular basis. Attention to small details
like this can establish the rapport that will lead to persuasion and
influence.

2.2.4 Channel
The channel is the method or methods that you use to convey your
message. The type of message you have will help to determine the
channel that you should use. Channels includ e face-to-face conversations,
telephone calls or videoconferences, and written communication like
emails and memos.

Each channel has its advantages and disadvantages, but it is possible to
establish rapport with the other person by using any of these channels.
However, since communication is mostly a non-verbal information
exchange, you are able to employ more techniques to influence and
persuade another person if you do it in a face-to-face meeting. That way
you have all of your communication methods available to you - words,
body language, tone of voice, and more.

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