Page 114 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

CHAPTER 8

Why Must I Know

How to Influence and

Persuade Others?

After a long career in marketing communications and public relations,
Robert has learned that influence can be hard to exert, but when done
so properly has wide-ranging impact. One memorable experience he
had while working for the Independent Bankers Association of America
(IBAA) in the middle 1990s, was trying to influence public opinion
regarding ATM fees. Robert turned to the media, helping to place bank-
ers on financial news programs and being interviewed himself by National
Public Radio’s Jim Zarolli.
The message that IBAA was sending to the public, through the media,
was that small, independent banks didn’t gouge customers on ATM fees
the way the megabanks did. The wire services and CNN picked up
the story, and soon there were articles appearing in papers across the
United States, and on the web, that gave IBAA’s message in clear, con-
sumer-friendly terms. Almost 20 years later, bank fees are still a bone of
contention for consumers, and a tremendous source of revenue for the
big banks.
Not all messages of influence or persuasion are directed at large audi-
ences. In fact, both of us believe that most messages sent in a business
setting contain some element of influence or persuasion. While we hav-
en’t conducted an empirical study on the matter, our collective experi-
ences have led us to that conclusion. Many times our efforts to influence
or persuade are one-on-one or one-to-a-few tasks.
Consider this example: If you are sending an email to a client with a
status report on a project, you are attempting to influence the receiver of
the message in a positive way to convey your competence and capability,