Developing Persuasive Communications

Part Two

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During Part Two you will reinforce the skills you built in Part One and gain additional skills to:

  • Listen actively

  • Deal with resistance

  • Communicate on short notice

This page asks you to tell us how your skills have been working since Part One and what you will bring to practice in Part Two. At the bottom of this page is an overview of the sessions.

Choose material to bring to the program

Pick two meetings, discussions, one-to-ones, calls, or presentations that will happen after the program to work with and bring any slides or notes you may have.

We encourage you to practice complex or challenging situations because you will learn more advanced skills and — with feedback from your colleagues and coaches — you will increase your chance of success in the meetings you practice.

  • The first situation should involve a group or individual who sees the world differently, and you need to persuade them to change. You may anticipate active or passive resistance because they:

    • Do not understand the issue

    • Have decided there are different reasons for a problem or solutions to it

    • Disagree with your assessment of the importance, urgency, or risks involved

  • The second piece you practice can be either:

    • A collaborative meeting or conversation — where you set out an issue / problem to address in the opening, and then discuss / work together to come up with a solution

    • A written report, email or PowerPoint. If you choose this option, the focus will be on translating the persuasive tools to written communication.

Tell us who you are and what your goals are

Here’s a quick reminder of the skills framework we introduced in Part One, to help you set goals now and share them at the start of your session:

Intellectual dimension

Deliver messages that are clear, relevant, and convincing

Emotional impression

Create a connection, earn trust, and convey conviction

Physical skills

Engage with presence, body language, and focused energy

Overview of the sessions

First day

Opening

Discuss your experiences since Part One, current challenges, and Part Two goals.

 

Active listening

You practice listening effectively, drawing out information, and helping a colleague to solve a problem.

 

Reinforce preparation tools

We will reinforce the preparation tools provided in Part One. You will apply these to the material you brought to practice.

 

Feedback on storylines

You will receive feedback on your preparation to help you improve the storyline.

 

Communicate change & motivate people to think and act differently

We introduce a framework for approaching difficult meetings and conversations in a productive way. You role-play the situation you have prepared. We make your first video.

 

One-to-one coaching

You review your first video privately with a coach.

 

Second day

Collaborative meetings or persuasive writing

Depending on your choice, you will either:

  • Lead a collaborative discussion of a business problem. Instead of handing the group the solution, you bring together the skills for active listening, meetings, and overcoming resistance to get the group to solve the problem.

  • Get feedback to improve a written communication — a report, email or PowerPoint. If there is time, you may also practice verbalizing the same communication, so you can compare the written and spoken versions.

 

One-to-one coaching

If we have recorded a second video, you review that with a coach.

 

Communicating on short notice

You practice communicating about two or three different work-related subjects, with very little preparation time. Then you practice a completely spontaneous situation.

 

Commit to a plan

You identify a few meetings over the next couple of weeks and plan the skills you will apply in each one to increase your chances of success.

 

Questions?

Email us goals@mcalinden.com or call us +1 212 986 4950

About us

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