Persuasive Presentations 29 November 2010 ITC/ILO Young Trade Union Leaders Prepared by Victoria Munsey

Persuasive Presentations The art of persuasion is the art of finding the best available means of moving a specific audience in a specific situation toward a specific decision.

The Persuasion Triangle Presenter Audience Presenter Audience Proposal Proposal

The Persuasion Triangle Presenter Audience Your needs/interests Their needs/interests Proposal Requirements/Advantages Requirements/Advantages

Many people are resistant to change of any kind, so…. To melt resistance: Be honest Be honest Find and emphasize common ground Find and emphasize common ground Show appreciation for counterpart: his successes and victories Show appreciation for counterpart: his successes and victories Give realistic pros and cons for your proposal Give realistic pros and cons for your proposal Ideally, let them convince themselves! Ideally, let them convince themselves!

How to harden resistance Be insincere Be insincere Be arrogant Be arrogant Use improbable threats Use improbable threats Lecture them Lecture them Refuse to listen attentively to their comments Refuse to listen attentively to their comments These behaviors will alienate your counterpart, so do not use them !

Know your audience Their hopes and fears Their hopes and fears Their priorities Their priorities Their prejudices Their prejudices Their past history of successes and failures Their past history of successes and failures Their opinion of you and your company Their opinion of you and your company How can you find out these things?

Each situation is different but what do all audiences want? The respect of others; The respect of others; To be responsible leaders/managers; To be responsible leaders/managers; To avoid pain and failure; To avoid pain and failure; To feel they have enough information to be able to assess risk accurately; To feel they have enough information to be able to assess risk accurately; To take a decision that will be in their company’s advantage. To take a decision that will be in their company’s advantage. Your proposal must satisfy their needs! Your proposal must satisfy their needs!

Present Professionally: this builds trust in your counterpart Information/data must be presented accurately; Information/data must be presented accurately; Get their names right Get their names right Be careful about spelling and grammar Be careful about spelling and grammar Make sure you’ve addressed their priorities Make sure you’ve addressed their priorities Rehearse at least 3 times out loud Rehearse at least 3 times out loud

Present Personally Never “talk down” to your audience; Never “talk down” to your audience; Don’t use technical words or abbreviations they may not know; Don’t use technical words or abbreviations they may not know; Use short, simple sentences; Use short, simple sentences; Tell your story simply; Tell your story simply; Illustrate with stories of success if possible. Illustrate with stories of success if possible.

Choose and use a clear structure Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages and Disadvantages Three points and therefore.. Three points and therefore.. Past, Present and Future…and therefore Past, Present and Future…and therefore Ideally, you should choose only one structure: for maximum clarity, do not mix them Remember to use a “framing sentence” to signal which structure you are using!

Closing and Call to Action Summarize your points if necessary; Summarize your points if necessary; Check if any point is still unclear Check if any point is still unclear Draw the conclusion, Draw the conclusion, Ask for their agreement – or, as salespeople say: “Ask for the order!”