The gentle art of persuasion

This book by Gene Bedell is called the ‘3 Steps toYes’. Aimed at managers and staff it’s all about how to practice the art of persuasion without resorting to high-pressure sales or feeling that you’re compromising your principles.

One of the things he talks about is developing a personal positioning for the specific person in mind that you are looking to persuade. Some call this the elevator pitch and the idea is to sum in a few words the answer to their question: ‘what can this person do for me?’ The key to this is to be crystal clear in the language you use, don’t say things that everybody could say, don’t boast and most importantly, put yourself across in terms of the other person’s personal or business needs. In other words, be relevant.