Influencing Skills

Introduction

Effective influencing skill is a critical skill in today’s working environment. We are expected to communicate and influence our colleagues, supervisors, clients, customers and all of our many stakeholders. To do this, participants need to understand the strategies and techniques that are essential for effective interpersonal and influencing skill to develop relationships with, and persuade, others.  Being able to influence and persuade  allows you to reach your goals. Many situations arise where you need to influence the behaviour or attitudes of managers, superiors, colleagues, customers, clients, suppliers and subordinates. Often, you either do not have or do not wish to use position power relying on authority alone.  You have to rely on persuading others through influencing, assertiveness, and empowering skills.   At the end of the programme participants will be able to discover their personal needs, strengths and weaknesses, understand people in greater depth and learn how to persuade and influence   people in any situation.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the programme participants will be able to:

  • Gain insight into personal behaviour and understand how our personality and work behavior influences our ability to persuade and influence others
  • Understand the interpersonal skills needed for persuasive influencing
  • Influence through delivering effective feedback
  • Complete a behaviour analysis and understand their influencing style
  • Determine how our social skills and interactions determine our ability to influence and persuade others
  • Understand how to be assertive but not aggressive or passive
  • Develop the skill to influence people across the different generations
  • Develop assertive influencing skills with all stakeholders including your boss
  • Empower people to succeed
Module Description Activities
Module 1
Persuasive Influencing – How Our Personality and Work Behaviours  Influence Our Relationships  
1.1 : Understanding Human Relationships  
  • What is Personality
  • Where Does Personality Come From
  • Is Personality Fixed
  • Differences Between Personality and Work Behaviour
  • Measuring Personal Traits
 
    The Big Five Locator Personality Test  
              Module 2
The Interpersonal Skills Needed for Persuasive Influencing  
2.1 : The Importance of  Perception in the Process of Influencing  
  • Main Factors of Perception
  • Problems of Perception
 
The Princess and the Frog, Test your Powers of Perception – Inference Exercise, Perception Circle, Check Your Assumptions  
2.2 Verbal Communication  
  • A Model of the Communication Process
  • Rich and Poor Channels of Communication
  • Causes of Communication Failure
  • Barriers to Communication
  • How to Overcome Communication Barriers
Activities Memo from the CEO, One-Way or Two-Way Communication – a Three Round Exercise, Communication Style Assessment  

2.3 Non Verbal Communication

  • Body Language and its Significance
Mini-lecture
  2.4 : Listening Skills
  • Active versus Passive Listening – The Fourteen Key Steps of Active Listening Cool Tips for Active Listening
  • Listening Habits of Effective Communicators
    Listening Skills – Self – Assessment, Following Instructions, Listening Skills Test, Listening Skills – a Practical Demonstration    
Module 3
Communicate and Influence Others By Being on the Same Wavelength  
  •   Flexing Communication by Being on the Same Wavelength
  • Understand Your Communicating Style
 
Module  4
Influencing through Effective Feedback      
  • Johari Window
  • Soliciting Feedback
  • Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback
  • Establishing Credibility
  • B.E.E.R  Formula
  • Team Exercise – Giving Constructive Feedback  
 
Module 5
Understanding and Discovering Our Own Behaviour and How We Persuade and Influence Others  
  • Personal Style Inventory
  • Understand Yourself and How You Persuade and Influence
  • How Different Personalities May See Each Other
  • How Strengths Taken to Extremes Become Weakness
  • Personal Style Inventory
 
Module 6
What Influencing Style is Most Effective  
  • Understanding How You Influence Others
  •    Self Assessment
  • The Psychology of Influencing – Video  
Module 7
How Our Social Skills and Interactions Determine Our Ability to Influence Others  
7.1: Components of EQ  
  • Self Awareness
  • Self Regulation
  • Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Social skill
  • The Power of Our Emotions – Common Emotional Hijacks – Amygdala Hijack  
 
  • Self Assessment – What’s your EQ at work  
7.2 : Using Emotional Intelligence to Improve Persuasive Influencing – Summary  
  • Guidelines for best practice of EI at workplace
  • Ten habits of high EI peopleTips for developing EI  
 
 
Module 8
How to Win Cooperation and Influence Others    
  • Promoter
  • Facilitator
  • Analytical
  • Controller  
  • What Quadrant are You?
 
Module 9
The Need to be Assertive Not Aggressive    
  • Responding Versus Reacting
  • Beware Conflict Triggers Make us React Not Respond
  • The Differences Between Aggressive, Assertive and Passive Behaviour  
  • Determine Appropriate Behaviours in Different Situations
 
Module 10
Influencing People Across the Different Generations  
  • The Four Generations in the Workforce
  • Differences in Values, Attitudes and Works Styles
  • Managing and Communicating With the Different Generations
  • Sending Different Messages
  • Mini-lecture
Module 11
Influencing Others Around us  
11.1 : Influencing Your Boss  
  • Understanding Your Boss
  • What Your Boss Wants
  • Managing the Relationship
  • Checklist of Do’s and Don’ts for Enabling Successful Results With all Bosses
  • Mini-lecture and group activities
11.2 : Useful Tips for Influencing Others
  • Strategies to Persuade and Influence
 
Module 12
Empowering People to Succeed    
  • What is Empowerment and Why it Works
  • The Ten Steps to Empowerment
  • Empowerment in  Practice
Mini-lecture
  Create an Action Plan    
  • What have I Learnt About Myself
  • What do I need to Reinforce
  • What do I need to Develop
  • Preparing an Action Plan
Review, Evaluation and Close
Methodology       This programme will be highly exponential in nature with short presentations, group discussions and presentation, practical exercises, self-awareness questionnaires, sharing of real life personal  experiences and the opportunity for reflection