Persuasion and Influence — How to Get it Right

Photo by Julian Lozano on Unsplash

Ever wonder about persuasion? What about influence?

I’m often curious about how one person can influence another.
As a studier of people, I often find myself thinking about how others make decisions and why they make the decisions they do. Have they been influenced by someone or are they being persuaded to do something?

Influence is the long term.
Persuasion is situational.

You will have better luck persuading people to do what you want if you have already established influence.

Influence positively affects persuasion; however, persuasion does not change influence.
You must start where you want to end up being viewed, as an influencer. Think about how you want others to see you. Others see me as a hiker, a technology worker, a mom and a Christian.

Think of influence as pull marketing and persuasion as push.

I can lead you to buy something, and that’s persuasion. However, you want something when you’ve been influenced. By stating the name of my company, I have a lot to influence- just because of our title, we are often admired because of where we work. I keep a sticky note (it’s faded from years of exposure) that reads, “1,000 people would like…