3 Steps to Exert Your Influence

When you don’t have position power in a situation, or don’t want to use your position power, which is almost always the wise choice, you need to use your influence.

What is Influence?

Influence is the ability to impact or change how a person thinks, feels, or acts. Since communication at its finest is about moving others to action, to change how people behave, first you need to change how they think.

To change how people behave, first you need to change how they think.

It might be a peer, a person on your team but who’s part of a matrix, or perhaps someone more senior than you.

Here are the 3 steps to move someone to action where influence is required:

1. Start by identifying what behavior you need to change. Ask yourself: What is it that you need to get done that isn’t happening? Be as specific as possible.

2. Then, think about where your audience is coming from on the topic. Get inside their heads and think like them. Think about their motives so you can help the other person answer two questions in a way they can understand:

• Is it worth it?
• Can this actually be done?

3. Then, bring your messages to life through experience – ideally a personal experience. Tell a story to illustrate your point.

Like all effective communication, influence requires planning so you can be intentional and get the result you want.

How do you need to leverage your influence today, and how might the 3 steps help you?

—David Grossman

As you plan to use your influence, be more purposeful in your communications with the help of this free tool. Click below to download the Take 5™ Planning Template today!