If you’re a leader, you need to know how to influence people. Maybe you’re trying to get clients to buy into your idea, trust your expertise, or sign on with your company. Or perhaps you want to convince colleagues to start a new initiative or kill one you think is doomed to fail.

In this episode, Vanessa Bohns, a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and Raven Hoffman, who works in a construction role that involves recruiting new clients to her firm, break down how to build influence at work.

They discuss which persuasion tactics are most effective and how to tell if someone is being swayed by your reasoning. And if you’ve failed to persuade someone but still believe in the cause, they offer smart tactics for trying again.

Key episode topics include: leadership, persuasion, power and influence, business communication, industrial sector, construction and engineering, education institutions.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Women at Work episode: The Essentials: Persuading People (2022)
Find more episodes of Women at Work.
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