I learned a very potent lesson about influence when I was a college student all those many years ago. I was called to sit on a jury in a civic trial. There were six of us altogether, five adults who were all my parents' ages or older, and me, a college kid who had never been to court, let alone had to sit on a jury. I was excited and raring to go. And then I was frustrated and disappointed. In my opinion, based on the facts at hand, there was no case at all, and yet we were instructed to determine a dollar value to be awarded to the plaintiff...based on a day-and-a-half's worth of medical information relating to injuries suffered by the plaintiff in a car accident. In that jury room, I adamantly shared my opinion that the plaintiff had failed to prove the defendant at fault. I had other opinions as well, and I still believe them to be of value. I now know there was one factor that was pure opinion and should not have been raised in that room, but my elders did not correct me.
That's just it, my elders did not correct me.They listened to me. I'm guessing now it was because I was a college student and I don't believe any of them had ever been to college (a retired construction worker, a housewife, etc). I was more educated than they were (although certainly not in the lessons of life), and, apparently, I communicated my points in an influencing manner.
My lesson?
The power to influence isn't always about having powerful titles. It's more about how well you communicate.
Here are a few other pointers about improving your ability to get a message across in the workplace:
Read "Four Effective Styles of Communication" HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment