One of the biggest factors limiting the success of many people is their inability to effectively persuade another human being to take action. Persuasion is the primary skill of ultra successful people. It is the skill that drives the world of commerce and is the skill that can enhance day-to-day living. The art of persuasion is what moves the world.

Mastering the art of persuasion will help you to achieve more of what you want, faster than you ever thought possible. This ability enables you to use all your other skills at a higher level. The ability to effectively persuade others is the true measure of your charisma and power. The good news is that anyone can immediately improve their powers and ability of persuasion. Set this goal in motion right now and make a commitment to improve. You are now aware of it and I believe that awareness is the first step to growth. Here are ten things that you can immediately do to put these thoughts into action:

Clarify what you want to achieve
You will be amazed at how effectively you can persuade people with a bit of preparation. With a specific outcome in mind you have a clear plan of what it takes to achieve your goal.

Understand the underlying motivation
Linked to preparation, it is vital that you understand what motivates the person you are dealing with. We are all motivated by something. Your goal is to determine what motivates the other person and then provide that motivation or need. Rather than just trying to convince someone, invest time by asking questions about what that person really wants. Then motivate them to act by showing them how you can assist them. People are always more motivated for their reasons, not yours.

Be creative and flexible
There are often more ways to achieve a positive outcome than first meets the eye. Once again, preparation and creative thinking is time well invested.

Develop active listening skills
Most of us don’t listen carefully. We are normally too busy preparing our opinions and answers, and therefore miss clear signals. Develop the habit of listening to understand, not only listening to respond.

Ask the right questions at the right time
Improve your questioning skills. Good questions are some of your most powerful tools of persuasion. Your questions should be conversational and should provide you with the right details or information. And guess what? Questions again give you the opportunity to actively listen and learn.

Be polite
People will always do things for two reasons, because they want to, or because they have to. People have a basic need to be treated with respect. If you treat people with courtesy and respect, you make them want to do things for you. Treat them respectfully and they will be open to being persuaded or influenced by you. And when I use the word “influence”, I mean this as a positive win-win experience, not one where there has to be a loser.

Speak with total conviction
Simply put, persuasion is the effective transfer of conviction. The more you appear to believe in your cause, the more open your audience is to persuasion.

Use powerful and descriptive words
When you effectively combine your words and messages with the appropriate emotions, you motivate the person you are dealing with to accept your ideas and take action. Words loaded with emotion have a powerful effect.

Develop rapport
Rapport is the ability to connect with the person you are talking to or the audience that you are persuading. You build rapport by truly caring about that person. If you successfully build rapport, you build trust. Concentrate all your focus and energy on that person and you will be amazed how positively they will respond.

Make sure that your outcome is positive
People sometimes state their outcomes in a negative form. Don’t do this- it is easier to achieve an outcome which is stated in a positive way.

There you have it - ten ways to ensure that when you speak, you will be heard, and when you lead, you will be followed.

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