Words have the power to influence people, but some work better than others. Here are some verbal strategies that deliver a more persuasive punch.
From emails and presentations, to phone calls and face-to-face conversations, almost everything we do involves words. Even our private thoughts rely on language. But certain ways of using words have far more impact. They are better at changing minds, captivating audiences and driving action.
When asking people to do things we often try to motivate them using verbs, as in “Can you help me revise this Power Point deck,” or “please turn out and vote.” But try this simple shift: Rather than asking people to “help,” ask them to be a “helper.” A 2014 study found that asking children for assistance this way increased helping by almost a third.
But most of us do just the opposite. We hedge our language, saying that things “might work” or that something “could” be a good idea. Unfortunately, research that Demi Oba of Duke University and I conducted found that such hedging often undermines our impact. It makes people think we’re less certain about what we are saying, which makes them less likely to follow our suggestions.
Consider asking for advice. People are often wary of asking others for help. We don’t want to bother them, and we worry that they’ll think less of us. But it turns out that the opposite is true. Asking for advice makes people seem more capable, skilled and qualified, according to a 2015 report in the journal Management Science.
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