Everyone has an opinion that they are willing to defend, and getting them to come over to your side can be a complicated process. When it comes to persuading someone, there is an art that should be followed to ensure the other person is indeed convinced. By understanding how social influence works, we can learn how to convince others of our point of view more effectively.

Ways to influence people effectively

Influencing people is a technique that is essential to getting people on your side and making them believe or do what you want. It is a skill that is helpful for leaders, influencers, and people whose jobs need persuasion to do well, such as those working in sales. However, influencing others is no easy feat, as people won't always say yes to what you want them to do or offer. In addition, people have beliefs, interests, and perspectives that can be different from yours, so getting them to agree can take time. Therefore, one must learn to play along with what others like and believe and make a compromise to make them coincide with what you offer or say. If you want others to say yes more often, some of the things below can help you do that.

1. Be a trustworthy and honest person

People are more inclined to believe and agree with someone with a respectable reputation and authority. But conversely, people may doubt what someone with less credibility says or offers. So if you want to influence people, you want them to trust you more, and it can be done by doing acts and good deeds that reflect what you say about yourself to others. Ensuring you walk the talk and don't deceive people with your words can make them more inclined to believe you. It can be challenging to influence people if you are not that known, and people hardly know anything about you. One can start small by making honesty a habit, and from there, do things that will make people see you positively.

2. Know your audience

The audience is the people you want to influence. They are the recipients of your offer and targets of your persuasion. To be influential, you want to know what clicks with your audience. You will want to research your audience's beliefs, culture, interests, and perspectives to do this. By doing so, you can adjust how you talk to them and spin your opinions and speech according to how the audience will like the way you talk. You can use words and terminologies that they understand and put yourself more or less in the same line of perspective as them. The goal is to create a resonance between you and most people, so they can agree more about what you want from them.

3. Be an expert in what you talk about

Facts and the truth are challenging to dispute because they are what they are. So if you want people's support or get them to agree to whatever you are offering or talking about, present data and facts to complement your claims. Numbers, graphs, well-researched information, and proper references can solidify your words and help you win friends. You will sound more convincing if there's data to back you up.

4. Tell personal experiences or stories

Aside from facts, establishing an emotional connection between you and your audience can make influencing easier. Most people are emotional, and if you appeal to their emotions, you can sway them easier to what you are offering or talking about. Using a personal story can help people relate to you if they have experienced what you tell in your stories. Utilizing positive emotions in your speech that can motivate and raise interest can aid in people listening to you and eventually agreeing with your points.

5. Offer something good that can improve the lives of others

Many people will most likely only agree to something if they can gain something beneficial from the offer. So no matter how influential you are, unless people stand to gain something, they will most likely ignore you or reject whatever you are trying to influence them over. A good example is when some people ask for surveys from others. Most will probably not want to get bothered answering a survey for several minutes for the sake of others where they don't gain anything. So to make people answer, some people that ask for surveys may offer some rewards for answering, such as a piece of food or maybe even some cash. The same principle can be used with other types of influencing people. If you can't offer rewards, you must be convincing enough to tell people that your product or any offer can bring them something good. You can also tell them that you have used the product yourself or done what you are saying to others, and they created positive results.

6. Be flexible enough

No matter how good your influence skills are, you will encounter resistance from people rejecting your offers and words. When influencing others, you are trying to convert people from different backgrounds, beliefs, and interests from you, so you may find people unwilling to agree or be hesitant to what you are offering or saying. However, just because they disagree doesn't mean it's impossible to influence them anymore. Maybe you influenced them at the wrong time when they were not in a good mood, or perhaps they are not yet ready to say yes to you. Given the proper time and education over what you are offering or speaking, they may agree with you later. Also, offering a compromise so that both sides gain something without losing entirely can work.

7. Appeal to the positive

People like to hear what they want, so researching what your audience likes and speaking to them to appeal to their interests is one way to make it easier to influence them. Speaking positively and praising your audience's strong points can get them to agree more. Just make sure not to flatter people too much, or you may not sound authentic. Be direct to the point, but don't forget to speak in a friendly manner so people can open up.

It takes skill to be an influential person.

Influential leaders and other people know how to appeal to the human nature of their audience. They know to reach out and help people get what they want while achieving what they want to succeed. Influencing others is a skill that takes time to master, and it's something we need to learn, especially if we are looking for a leadership role someday or want somebody to agree with our opinion. It's always vital to consider other people's lives before trying to influence them, as they may see things differently compared to you. Even if you can't influence somebody today, with time and effort, they may eventually say yes, given the right circumstances and techniques for influencing.