What are the elements of influence?

We’ve all encountered people who say less but what they say matters more; people who know how to use silence to dominate an exchange.  So having influence means more than just doing all the talking; it’s about taking charge and understanding the roles that positional power, emotion, expertise, and nonverbal signals play. These four aspects of influence are essential to master if you want to succeed as a leader.

"Dr. Bacon offers a great deal of well thought out, valuable information.....Elements of Influence is a good book filled with excellent ideas and worthwhile techniques." - Inland Empire Business Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Virtually every human interaction involves some element of influence. We seek to influence others whenever we want someone to agree with us, take a particular action, share our point of view, accept our perspective, or behave differently. Our success in business, and in life, depends on our ability to get others to follow our lead, join our cause, feel our excitement, or buy our products and services. Is influence a natural ability with which some lucky people are born? Is it something available only to those invested with official authority over others? Or can it be mastered and exerted by anyone? Elements of Influence reveals how you can hone and develop your own ability to influence others, giving you the tools and information you need to do so ethically and in any situation. Building on Terry R. Bacon's comprehensive Survey of Influence Effectiveness (SIE) assessment, a framework that details every possible act of influence and is used by the author's Fortune 500 clients, the book provides substantial insights into how power and influence are wielded, and how you can effectively moderate the form of influence you choose, the content of your message, and the type of communication you use to best suit the people you are trying to influence at any given time. Filled with exercises and practical applications, the book outlines the ten most commonly used influence techniques--logical persuading, legitimizing, appealing to relationship, socializing, consulting, appealing to values, modeling, exchanging, stating, and alliance building--as well as the four negative or unethical influence practices: avoiding, manipulating, intimidating, and threatening. With the positive techniques you'll learn not only how to gain the support of employees less willing than those of past generations to accede to the wishes of management solely by virtue of its authority, but also how to exert influence globally, across cultures. More and more in our society, great things are accomplished via collaborative methods, by inspiring commitment rather than demanding compliance. This eye-opening book shows you how. TERRY R. BACON is the founder of Lore International Institute, a widely respected executive-development firm recently acquired by Korn/Ferry International. He is now the scholar in residence in that firm and is the author of many books, including Powerful Proposals, What People Want, and The Elements of Power. He can be found online at: www.theelementsofpower.com and www.terryrbacon.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Knowing how to influence others is crucial to your success. It's found in the simplest interactions with your customers, suppliers, partners, bosses, subordinates, and colleagues, as well as your friends and loved ones. The act of influencing is such a part of your daily life that you may not even realize when you (or others) are doing it. But to use influence effectively--to inspire and convince others to follow your lead, share your point of view, or buy your products and services--requires adaptability, perceptiveness, and some insight into other people and cultures. Based on 20 years of research, Elements of Influence reveals how you can: understand why people allow themselves to be influenced --and why they resist - choose the right approach for each situation - be influential when you have no formal authority - avoid or handle skepticism, resistance, and rebellion - gauge how responsive someone might be to an influence attempt - determine a new course of action if the influence technique you're using isn't working - succeed in every kind of organization--and even in other countries. Whether we're nodding our heads, shaking hands, making a presentation, or sharing our ideas with a customer or colleague, hardly a moment goes by in which we're not influencing others, or being influenced ourselves. Yet true masters of influence do more than attain mere compliance; they transcend it on a regular basis to achieve wholehearted, emotional commitment from others. More potent than passive consent, this enthusiastic and engaged response can even lead people to actively spread your message on to others, creating a powerful wave of continued support. Elements of Influence demystifies all the fundamentals of influence--the basics you need to know in order to generate more positive outcomes in both business and life. You'll learn how to pick up on the societal and cultural cues that reveal others' hidden motivations, and unlock the secrets to getting what you want while satisfying others in the process. Filled with exercises and practical applications, this book provides you with the wisdom, strategies, and techniques that will increase your ability to influence and achieve greater success. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Terry R. Bacon, PhD, is a prolific author and popular speaker. He is the founder of Lore International Institute, a widely respected executive development firm, and is the author of numerous books, including What People Want, Powerful Proposals, and Elements of Influence, among others.