At work and in life, you have to deal with all kinds of people, including leaders, customers, colleagues, etc.

In this process, the two sides often have different opinions:

If you don't pay attention to skills and just use general principles to try to persuade the other party, the other party may be disgusted and your relationship will be affected;

But if you give up persuading the other party easily and let them do whatever they want, it may make things worse or even cause you to lose your own profits.

So if you want things to turn out the way you want, you need to master some persuasion skills.

So, how can you effectively convince others to agree with your point of view?

Below I will share 5 tips on how to persuade others.

First, establish common ground.

There is a concept in psychology called "similarity effect", which refers to:

We tend to be more attracted to people who are similar to us in some way.

This similarity may manifest itself in different aspects, such as:

Interests, hobbies, values, physical characteristics, etc.

You can establish common ground with the other party, narrow the psychological distance between the two parties, and cultivate trust.

This also requires you to:

Be sure to listen carefully to what the other person says.

This way you can understand the other person's thoughts and interests, and find a topic that interests both of you.

Once you find common ground, you can look for opportunities to express it naturally, such as:

If both of you like playing ball, why not ask each other to play a game? Once you have a close relationship, it will be easier to persuade each other when you talk about things.

Second, take advantage of the door-in-the-door effect.

The key to leveraging the foot-in-the-door effect is:

First make a simple and easy-to-achieve request to encourage the other party to take action, and then further raise expectations to ultimately achieve your goal.

For example, if you want your partner to lose weight, don't directly ask him to lose 20 pounds.

You can start by encouraging him to go to the gym just once a week and spend 30 minutes doing a simple workout.

Through this small action, first help him develop the habit of exercising, and then slowly expand the time and frequency of exercise until the goal of weight loss is achieved.

Third, add evidence.

If it is difficult to convince the other party with just your own one-sided words, you can seek external support, such as:

Choose credible evidence.

You can choose relevant, credible, and convincing data, facts, and cases to prove your point.

for example:

When selling a product to customers, they will be skeptical.

You can show your customers reviews and recommendations of the product from leading companies in the industry or authoritative media, so that they will be more likely to believe that what you recommend is good.

Fourth, agree first, then make a request.

Acknowledge the other person's point of view by:

Only by reducing the other party's rejection of you can you establish an emotional connection, which will help the other party accept your views and demands.

for example:

If you want to convince others to support your ideas, you should first make yourself look like you are on the same side as them. You can tell them:

You understand his point of view very well, as you had the same confusion and doubts before.

After gaining the other party's resonance, introduce new ideas and requirements to him and guide him to accept your ideas.

For example:

You are a car salesman and want to convince someone to buy a new car.

You can first acknowledge that the customer’s car can still last for a few more years, and then introduce the new car’s safety, fuel efficiency, and environmental performance to the other party.

Once the other party understands the convenience of a new car, it will naturally be easier for them to consider buying a new one.

Fifth, give clear action recommendations.

When persuading others, we need to give clear recommendations for action.

We should clearly tell each other what needs to be done and how to do it.

If we can provide specific solutions, the other party will be more likely to accept our point of view.