When was the last time you had a good idea? How did you try to convince the rest? Influence is one of the most necessary skills within organizations, especially if we deal with more experienced people.
Without a doubt, one of the skills that can help us the most in convincing others (influencing them) is the ability to put ourselves in the other's place. We call this ability empathy.
Empathy: Term from German, understood as the feeling of belonging to something making it felt in ourselves. It is applied to identification with the company and the job, seeking motivation. It is the ability to identify and understand the wishes of others, and respond (react) appropriately to channel them in the common interest. Ability to motivate, to help people release their talent. People with these characteristics are excellent salespeople and managers. It is realizing what other people feel, without having to tell me.
Empathy involves asking yourself the following questions:
- What is important to them? What do they value? What are your goals? How would you like me to communicate with them? Face to face, in writing… What is your best time of day?
But how can we exert a greater influence on our collaborators?
- Being us who provide the solutions, not waiting for the other person to provide them, respecting the time of the other person, emphasizing the benefits for both parties, making our proposals highlighting the needs of the other person, giving positive feedback. Practice active listening
And how do you persuade others? Following this structure;
- Asking ourselves first what is happening, how are the things being done? Wondering what the problem is with these actions. Describe what is going wrong. Emphasize the importance of these actions to the other person. Asking him what the problem is for him Posing what are the different options to solve the problem. Presenting advantages and disadvantages Choosing one of the options.
