Use The Power Of Influence & Persuasion To Improve Your Life

Ever wonder why successful people have the charisma to hold the room in thrall? Ever stood in awe as crowds pushed to be nearer a celebrity in order to see and hear them better? Most people would call it charisma, some, the X-factor. Donald Trump has it and so does Bill Gates. Oprah Winfrey built her empire on it.

It's called power and it has two faces: influence and persuasion. Power has a symbiotic relationship with its audience. A man has power because he can command an audience and he can only do so because the audience allows him to, which gives the man power in the first place. Whatever it is that a powerful man can do, he can do so because his audience granted it to him.

Contrary to popular belief, power has nothing to do with control and manipulation. In fact, using these two can result to corruption and antagonism, quite the opposite of what power aims to achieve.

Power, when derived from control and manipulation can result to hostage and bribery, even deception. It can come in the form of holding information, reward, even freedom for ransom.

Influence and persuasion are two of the most basic components that run our lives, regardless of who we are.

We could be a sales professional selling a product or service, a doctor guiding his team through an operation, a construction foreman leading his crew into building a tower, a politician trying to make a difference, a parent working to make a better home, or even a student interacting with his peers.

It doesn't matter where we are at our lives at the moment, at one time or another, we have need of influence and persuasion. We negotiate because we can persuade.

We are able to achieve things because we can influence and we don't even have to be celebrities or business tycoons. We use influence and persuasion on a daily basis so much that we aren't even aware of it. We use it in groceries, shopping malls, offices, parks, even over the dining table.

The gift of influence and persuasion is inherent in all of us. Some people are just adept at it because they recognize this and have worked hard in nurturing this gift. An effective way of developing it is to learn to communicate well - be able to listen with attention and understand verbal and non-verbal cues and be sensitive to the goals of the other person.

Try to learn how to negotiate mutually rewarding results. Try to see from the other person's point of view. Be able to present your ideas clearly and concisely to let the other person see what you see, regardless of what his prejudices or biases are.

Understand that human nature is complex and very dynamic. It operates simply, but can produce complicated results. People respond to reciprocity whether it's good or bad. They also appreciate consistency and honesty. Knowing what makes people act can help you influence them more effectively.

People recognize the need to belong and it is this concept that has helped many influential and persuasive people make a difference by just appealing to this need.

It's also worth to remember that people are more likely to respond to small decisions than they are to big ones. And most of all, people like appreciation - not the cheap vulgarity of flattery - but honest approval of what they are capable of.

Being able to utilize the power of influence and persuasion in our lives can make a huge difference and can get us a job, raise our income, get the assistance we need, advance our relationships and improve ourselves.

We all can't be presidents and CEOs. In fact, most of us might be spending our lives untouched by limelight, unknown by the rest of the world. But having the ability to influence and persuade can help us improve the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us.

The power of influence and persuasion is the battery that runs our society. It builds nations and promotes peace. It encourages relationships and promotes leadership.

In fact, without influence and persuasion, the world would not be what we know of it today, and what it can still be if we only use these two correctly.