Changing someone's mind is no easy feat. It requires a delicate balance of persuasion, empathy, and evidence. Let's delve into the art of influencing thought processes, and explore strategies that can make the seemingly impossible, possible.
Leadership involves making unpopular decisions while navigating complex relationships with colleagues, partners, and clients.
Convince someone who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with you to change their mind
- Diagnose the root of the fundamental disagreement before trying to persuade
- Leaders who were most successful in overcoming others’ skepticism did so by identifying which aspects of their argument elicited the most pushback
The Credible Colleague Approach
Bring in a credible colleague
- A champion of your position from another part of the organization, whether they are a peer or superior, may be better-suited to convince this detractor
- Forces the detractor to disentangle who you are from what your argument might be and evaluate the idea based on its objective merits
The Cognitive Conversation
When to use it: If they’ve clearly articulated a logical set of objections, and they don’t appear to be hiding ulterior motives, approach them with a cognitive conversation.
- The goal is to show them that, on an objective and factual basis, their initial stance on the situation isn’t as reasonable as your argument.
The Champion Conversion
When to use it: When the detractor isn’t easily persuaded through cognitive arguments, or when they harbor a grievance in your relationship with them, engaging in debates may be futile
- How it works: Don’t jump in and try to convince the other person. Instead, invest time in personally learning about and building rapport with them and understand their perspective and why they might feel personally affronted
