The Art of Persuasion

Managers have to use persuasion every day.  It is important to know that different persuasion techniques work for different employees and that every manager has their own management style.  Here is my own “best practices” approach to persuading employees;

·         I use relationship closeness with my employees.  Although we are not “friends”, I treat them with respect and they treat me with respect.  We have an open relationship were we can talk freely about issues, ideas, and changes that need to take place.  Having a good relationship with the employees makes it easier when it comes to persuading them to do something.

·         In order to persuade my employees, I have to know them.  What I can do to persuade one employee, will not necessarily work with another.  Knowing and understanding how each is motivated will help with the persuasion.

·         I also use humor to persuade my employees.  For example, when I walked into the stockroom at my store there was a group of three employees talking.  I made the comment “I didn’t know we were having a party back here.  Should I invite all of the customers back?”  It was a joking comment to persuade them to get back to work.  They laughed and dispersed back to their areas.

·         There are also times when I have to use the “rationale” approach, “involving the use of explanation or justification” (Seiter & Gass, 2004, p. 340).  Some employees are best persuaded by reason.

References

Seiter, J. S., & Gass, R. H. (2004). Perspectives on Persuasion, Social Influence, and Compliance Gaining. Boston: Pearson Education.