Getting people to say to yes to us is imperative to getting what we want. But how do you make someone say yes to the things you know they aren't likely to agree with?
Apparently you can….
All it takes is a little persuasion, according to an article on conversionxl.com, which says that even when people are inclined to say no to you there are psychological tricks you can employ to make them change their minds.
We'll look at two of these in some detail.
1. Speak quickly and confidently.
Fast paced speech is distracting and makes it difficult for the listener to point out flaws in your argument. When talking to people who are less likely to say yes to you, try to pick up the pace of what you're saying.
Conversely, when speaking to people who are likely to agree with you, adopt a slower pace and give the listener more time to appreciate what you're saying.
In addition to this, speaking confidently has the effect of convincing the listener of your expertise, if nothing else.
Being sure of yourself and knowing your argument (or product, or company) inside and out, being aware of your argument's benefits and flaws and truly believing what you say can be a very powerful tool of persuasion.
2. Get them on your side straight away.
When you know your listener is unlikely to agree with you, start out with an agreeable statement.
This advice stems from research conducted by Jing Xu and Robert Wyerestablished, claiming that the effects of an agreeable message can linger and subsequently have an effect on decision-making. One of these tests involved playing individuals a speech by either Barack Obama or John McCain and afterwards showing them a TV ad for a car.
After listening to the speech by Barack Obama Democrats were more swayed by the TV ad, while the opposite was true for Republicans, who were persuaded more by the ad after McCain's speech.
The point is, making statements that your listeners can agree with before asking for what you really want can be the difference between a yes and a no. Try this when making sales or negotiating, or when you're expecting a cold, hard ‘no'.
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