Monday, July 27, 2009

How To Influence People

A Pebble in the Pond

In today’s growing population, it is so easy for everyone to get lost in the crowd. The great things we do can go unnoticed if we simply sit there and wait for luck to strike on us. What is necessary is to be that person who inspires other people to change for the better. This not to say that we all must aim for world wide popularity. The important thing here is to be able to inspire others to follow our footsteps and create a ripple effect, much like a pebble thrown into a pond.

Influencing can sometimes be looked at as being able to subtly convince people to do what you want without making them feel like they are being coerced, much like a sleight of hand. The other person isn't prodded into agreeing with you, but is unconsciously being persuaded into understanding what and how you think.

Influencing is also about inspiring. The thing with the world today is that countries are ridden with problems. What we all need right now is that person to give others hope and to enthuse them to follow in their footsteps. The world leaders have been trying to do this but their efforts are futile and are in vain because the people don’t have enough motivation to think positively. Aside from that, the majority cannot directly relate to these world leaders. To most people, they are figure heads who are much like strangers. It is harder to relate to someone we hardly know, and though we hear their goal, the impact increases when the action comes from someone we can all relate to.
This article is a call for everyone to be that bringer of change.

Whoever you may be, influencing others is about having the confidence and willingness to use yourself to make things happen. We all must use every means of communication to create the impact that we all want, because right now, we all just let things happen.

To be able to inspire others, we need to understand what they want and need. This in no way means twisting ourselves into knots to become someone else. Rather, it's about understanding which portion of our personality fits theirs. Of course to make this a reality we need time. But if we do want things to change, we have to be that change, that person who inspires others to follow our footsteps.

Every single day, we're confronted with situations where we need to influence, lead, and persuade people. We need to take advantage of these situations, and one way to do this is to lead by example, not just words. People who talk a lot tend to drive others nuts. By seeing what they can become, people are more inspired to follow. We must have a proper understanding of people and their nature if we are ever to win others over. When we gain a proper insight, then and only then, can we become the person of influence. This is very possible when we show them how they can get what they want by simply following our examples. It is leadership at its finest, because it is by example.

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