Persuasion and influencing skills

Overview
From an early age we all spend a lot of time trying to get other people to see things from our point of view: trying to
influence the way that they act or persuading them to take our preferred course of action. Those who have this skill
understand how human behaviour affects the way that their colleagues, and they themselves, respond to the wide
range of situations we encounter in the office and in everyday life.

Learning objectives
This course will give the participants a sound understanding of human behaviour and the necessary skills to
influence people. It will enable participants to:
• Understand what makes people tick
• Learn effective communication techniques
• Empathise with others
• Use the science of persuasion
• Learn the techniques that will win people to your way of thinking.

Who should attend?

Anyone who is interested in developing the skills to manage the full spectrum of behaviour encountered in personal
and business relationships and how to influence and persuade both managers and direct reports to accept their own
point of view.

Course format
This is a highly interactive and participative course that is designed to give the delegate a thorough understanding of
the subjects covered and the confidence to use the key concepts and techniques. The programme uses a
combination of participative seminars and group discussion case studies to ensure that the course is always
engaging and lively and that the delegate gets to try out and practice the key skills in a safe environment.

The expert trainer

Paul Lower, FCMA, is an enthusiastic business finance trainer and coach with comprehensive experience of writing
and delivering financial, business and negotiation skills training courses for private and public sector delegates from
the UK and overseas.

He is a seasoned finance professional with more than twenty years ‘sharp-end’ experience as Finance Director of
global media, publishing and retail companies. He has board level experience in high growth businesses and
companies managing change, evolving market channels and supply chains. He is also an experienced consultant and
adviser to small and medium sized businesses.

Paul has extensive practical experience of strategic planning; investment and acquisition appraisal; design and
implementation of financial reporting and budgetary control systems. This gives him a wealth of practical experience
with which he can bring to life his seminars and workshops.

www.tihtc.co.uk 1 Tel: 01582 714285

 
 ‘Truly inspiring.’

‘Paul is able to write and deliver training courses in a way that allows delegates to understand and
use the key business finance skills. We always receive very high scores for his sessions.’

‘Paul has a knack of explaining things in a way that makes them easy to grasp’

‘A great course that will teach you real financial skills you can apply to a real business.’

Course outline

1 What makes people tick?

• Theories of human behaviour and motivation
• Aggressive, passive and assertive behaviour
• Why adults behave like children – principles of Transactional Analysis
• Dealing with difficult people

2 Effective communication
• How we communicate
• Common barriers to human communication
• Understanding body language

3 Influencing and persuasion

• Sources of power and how power is exercised
• Making it personal: dealing with things on a human level
• The science of persuasion – social proofing and reciprocity
• Six ways to make people like you
• The three fundamental techniques of handling people
• Twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking
• Nine ways to change people without giving offence

4 Making effective presentations

• What to leave out – who cares when your business started
• How to prepare with the RAP approach
• Understanding and empathising with your audience
• What problems are you solving for your audience?
• Knock ‘em out – the secrets of delivering great presentations

© The In-House Training Company / the trainer

www.tihtc.co.uk 2 Tel: 01582 714285