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Aim
People try to influence other people or situations in many different ways. Successful influencers recognize which particular influencing strategies are right for each situation and adapt their style and method accordingly. This exercise encourages you to consider different influencing strategies and their most appropriate uses.
Common influencing strategies used include:
- reason: logical presentation of ideas
- friendliness: creation of goodwill
- coalition: getting the support of others to back up requests
- bargaining: negotiating
- assertiveness: a direct approach, ordering and demanding compliance
- higher authority: getting the support of individuals higher up in the organizational hierarchy
- sanctions: use of rewards and punishments
There will be, and will have been occasions when some of these styles are more appropriate than others, and when some of them are distinctly inappropriate.
Task
- Download the Appropriate Influencing Styles template.
2. In this exercise, you should first take 10 minutes or so to reflect on situations in which you have been involved, or you have observed, where people were influenced to think or act in a particular way. You should also think of situations where an effort has been made to influence you or others, but the attempt has failed.
3. Using the table below, reflect on the influencing style used, based on the list above. Think about your initial responses and identify whether or not it was the most appropriate method, and if not, what might have been more appropriate. Make notes on appropriate influencing strategies next to each situation.
