Influencing skills are the ability to bring people round to your way of thinking about a certain topic, without force or coercion whilst acknowledging their opinions.
Some people seem to be able to do it effortlessly, and almost without anyone noticing, whereas others fall back on the power of their position to enforce what they want. Influencing skills can be learnt just like any others, and they are a key part of being able to influence others to achieve your goals and objectives.
Influencing skills are reliant on good soft skills and the ability to communicate effectively, engage stakeholders which involves the art of storytelling. There are six principles of influence: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity and unity (see glossary). The best persuasive techniques apply effective soft skills and emotional intelligence.
Although influence is associated with power, you don’t need to be a leader to have power or to be able to influence others within an organisation. For instance, persuading others to support an idea, a project, give help or to show approval are just a few examples of influencing skills.
Powerful influencing skill relies on the other social awareness capacities of emotional intelligence (EI). Conversely, the stronger the EI, the more powerful the influencing skill will be. It works on the premise that you can’t force people to do what they are not willing to do, but you can get them to want what you want by mastering effective persuasion tactics.
Other thing that stimulates influence is communication. Without steady communication, people will less likely be influenced by you. Especially during times of crisis where people are in in need of security and assurance.
If someone has a great influencing skills, it is important to remember that these skills could be only use ethically.
You should never try to persuade people to do anything illegal, or that is actively against their interests.
In times of crisis it is vital to have a high level influencing skill, which could be used persuade others to work towards a common goal.
During a crisis, work environments and circumstances may change. There will be times that individuals feel out of control. They may struggle with staying motivated and engaged due to that sense of fear and uncertainty. Good influencers can accurately assess and combine needs of organization and workers, people and families. He/she can control and tacticaly manage and manoeuvres others to desired outcome.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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