Writing an effective and influencing statement
What is influencing?
First, let’s review what it means to influence another person. Influencing is the ability to alter another person’s thinking or behaviours. If you have ever tried to persuade another person to understand your point of view, then you know that influencing is easier said than done.
Conger’s four steps
In his article, The Necessary Art of Persuasion, Jay A. Conger identified four steps to effectively influence another person to consider new ideas.
As you learned earlier, those steps are:
- Establish credibility
- Frame for common ground
- Provide evidence
- Connect emotionally
Throughout your career in project management, there will be times when you will need to influence someone to consider an idea, approve a plan, or complete a project task. Conger’s four steps provide a useful framework for thoughtfully approaching conversations that are important to project success and influencing stakeholders. Let’s explore each step further before applying them to an influencing statement:
