5 influencing tactics you’ve never heard of

More than ever, as a professional, manager or project leader, you depend on your ability to influence others. You need it to value and adjust the ideas, opinions and actions of your employees/colleagues. Paying insufficient attention to influencing can seriously disrupt the outcome of your work.

In this blog, discover what the tactics for influencing are. Plus opportunities to expand skills in this area. Always useful at work.

Importance of influencing is growing

In the companies I visit, I find that being able to effectively and respectfully influence others has become a core competency. Companies increasingly have knowledge-intensive products or services with matching highly skilled employees/colleagues. In addition, more than once you have to deal with influencing colleagues who are not part of your department. However, you need them to achieve your goals.

So your success (achieving your goals) depends on your ability to influence, inside and outside your own department.

What’s your influencing style?

Have you ever thought about how you influence others? What is your style, what tactics do you use? In theory, of course, you know that everyone does it in their own way and that there are different styles. Maybe you think you have mastered all those styles.

You could, but like any human being, you are more likely to always use the same style. And it goes even beyond. Did you know that you yourself are sensitive and impressionable when the style you use is applied to you by another person?

So you have some kind of preference when it comes to influencing and being influenced yourself. Often out of habit or because the style suits you personally.

What is your style? Find out here.

Research (Musselwhite, Plouffe 2012) has shown that there are five self-contained styles in how you influence. I have listed them for you below, including the corresponding behaviors.

1. Rationalize

You know and use facts and bring them forward, you use logic to convince the other person, You use expertise and (long-term) experience to convince and persuade others.

2. Claim

You rely on your personal beliefs, rules, the law and authority when convincing others. You continue to convince others that your ideas should be included, even if they disagree. You challenge and you do not hesitate to pressure others when necessary to achieve your goal.

3. Negotiate

Your signature influencing style when negotiating is that looking for the compromise and concessions. The best solution that everyone can agree on. You are willing to make deals for the greater good. If necessary, you will not hesitate to wait for a more appropriate time.

4. Inspire

You influence people toward your purpose and position by inspiring them. You talk about a shared mission. You give an insight into the wildly interesting opportunities that are on the path for everyone. To do so, you often use metaphors and stories to work toward a common goal.

5. Bridging

Your influencing style focuses on connecting and bringing people and goals together. In your style, you rely on reciprocity(1), providing strong personal commitment(2), building coalitions(3) and using personal relationships to achieve your goal(4).

And how often does it (not) succeed?

You probably recognize in the above list the style you yourself use dominantly. We can take a step now:

• Ask yourself if your dominant style is always effective.
• When did you go wrong and what was the reason?

Just staying rigid in your own style is likely to make you less influential. Perhaps in 70-80% of the conversations you have. Not that these conversations are bad but the possibilities become so much greater when you can tune into your interlocutor and “play” with the styles.

Learning to influence better is a necessity

It is helpful to vary your influencing style. Why? The organization where you work is knowledge-intensive with well-trained colleagues. Very often you perform your work there in close cooperation with those colleagues. Sticking to (only) your favorite style of influencing is therefore probably unwise in such an environment. Your chances of achieving results will be limited if you stick to one style. So practice with the other styles if the situation calls for it.