by D. P. Noe

Created on: July 21, 2011   Last Updated: April 29, 2012

Are you looking to develop skills to motivate and persuade others in your workplace? How do some individuals have the ability and skills to motivate and persuade others in their workplace environment? Their secret lies in their own innate ability to identity what drives and motivates people in their working environment. Individuals that can persuade and motivate have learned how to change negative resistance to positive change.

The behaviors that an individuals uses to present themselves has a huge impact on their ability to influence individuals. Eye contact is an absolute essential tool to use, lack of eye contact gives the appearance that the individual is not connected or not interested in an individual or the group of individuals they are trying to influence. When interacting with a group or a single individual, influential individuals never appear bored. Persuasive individuals express ideas with enthusiasm and with a confidence that demonstrates they believe in what they are saying.  They remember to connect the ideas they are trying to get across with what is important to the group or individual, failing to connect with an individual or group of individuals will make it difficult to influence anyone.

The focus should always be on what the individual or group of individuals are looking to accomplish.  Persuasive individuals explore what motivates them to succeed and accomplish their goals. It is essential to help individuals or group of individuals feel comfortable and help them overcome their fears. The ability to help individuals break out of their traditional mind sets and focus on their own creativity is a skill that individuals need to master before attempting to persuade and influence others.

The climate in the workplace needs to be an environment where individuals feel a freedom and have a comfort zone where they can freely express beliefs and values. When you are trying to influence a group or an individual, you need to be ready to acknowledge any issues that may be compromising their values and beliefs. Individuals want to have their values and beliefs reflected and become part of their working environment. This type of workplace environment creates a stage where you can influence and work with an individual or group of individuals.

A significant way to influence an individual or group of individuals is to always include their priorities and connect your own position so that you can work together to find common goals. If the individual or group of individuals does not agree with your position, stop and examine what the differences are and look at ways to resolve them. Once you move past their issues and have shown that you respect them but your ideas will improve their workplace, you now the created an opportunity to influence them to collaborate and work together with them. 

The ability to influence and make a difference takes the ability to gain support and find a common ground to share opinions. In order to influence an individual or group of individuals, always keeps in mind the concerns and what motivates the group or individuals involved. If you want to persuade and influence, it takes a personal effort to get involved and become part of a shared working environment where everyone feels valued and respected.

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