How to Persuade An Audience: The 9 Best Tips

Imagine you must attend a business meeting where you must present a unique solution to your fellow executives. Your strategy will help the company move forward and grow. However, you are not quite sure if your fellow executives will agree with your ideas. How would you feel about presenting your ideas to your colleagues? Would you be anxious about persuading your audience? Or would you feel confident in your persuasive skills? How do you persuade an audience?

Persuading an audience can feel scary. It may feel like there are so many things to worry about. What if other people don’t like your ideas? How do you convince them to reconsider? How should you structure your presentation? 

Being persuasive can benefit you in leadership roles, sales, and executive presentations. In this article, I will share with you 9 persuasive techniques to help you structure and execute a compelling business presentation.

How to Persuade an Audience: 9 Tips

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is one of the most important steps to being persuasive. After all, it is hard to persuade your audience if you don’t know who you are talking to!

There are several things to consider when you are trying to get to know your audience. One of the first things you want to know is what their motivations and desires are. When you know your audience's motivations, you are able to align your offer with their desire. 

Another thing to consider is your audience's level of knowledge about your topic. If your audience is already familiar with what you are talking about, you will want to focus on persuading them with new information. On the other hand, if your audience is not familiar with your topic, you will want to focus on educating them.

2. Leverage the Power of Storytelling

Effective storytelling can persuade your audience in several ways. First, stories can help you connect with your audience on an emotional level. When you share a story, your audience will be able to see themselves in the characters and feel the emotions of the story.

Second, stories can be used to illustrate your points. When you tell a story about something that has happened to you or someone else, your audience will be able to visualise what you are talking about. This can be especially helpful if you are trying to explain a complex concept.

Third, stories can help build trust with your audience. When you share stories about your personal experiences, your audience will be able to see that you are authentic and trustworthy.

3. Demonstrate Your Credibility

If you want to persuade your audience, you need to demonstrate that you are credible. There are several ways to do this.

One way to show your credibility is by sharing your qualifications quickly and factually to avoid arrogance. If you have the relevant education or experience, be sure to mention it with humility! This will help show your audience that you know what you’re talking about.

Another way to demonstrate your credibility is by sharing data and research. Consider sharing a powerful statistic when you are making a point. When you back up your claims with data, it will help show your audience that you have done your homework. 

4. Project Confidence

When you are trying to persuade your audience, it is important to present with confidence. If you come across as uncertain or hesitant, your audience will be less likely to believe you.

One way to project confidence is by speaking clearly and slowly. Avoid using filler words such as “um” or “like”. Instead, take a deep breath and focus on speaking slowly and deliberately.

Another way to project confidence is through your body language. Mastering your body language can take practice. You will have to make sure your facial expressions, your posture, and your gestures are powerful, natural and relaxed. 

5. Avoid Feature Dumping

When you are trying to persuade your audience, it is important to focus on the benefits of your offer rather than the features. Your audience doesn’t care about the features of your product or service. They only care about how it will benefit them.

For example, let’s say you are leading a meeting with your fellow executives. In this meeting you will present your acquisition strategy for this year. Rather than focus on the features of the companies you think the organisation should acquire (e.g. they are a growing business, great potential market share, etc.), focus on the benefits (e.g. it will diversify your organisation portfolio and will improve profit margins).

6. Use Positive and Affirming Language

When you are trying to persuade your audience, it is important to use positive and affirming language. This means fewer 'don'ts' and 'won'ts' and more 'dos' and 'wills'. Also it means using words that will make your audience feel good about themselves and your offer.

For example, rather than saying “this software will help you reduce inefficiency”, say “this software will help you increase productivity”. The latter statement is more positive and affirming, and therefore more likely to persuade your audience.

7. Ask Rhetorical Questions

Asking rhetorical questions is a great way to engage your audience and get them thinking about your offer. Rhetorical questions are questions that don’t require an answer. They are used to make a point or illustrate a concept.

For example, let’s say you are trying to persuade your audience to buy your payroll software. You could ask a rhetorical question such as, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a payroll software that is reliable and affordable”? This question will make your audience think about the benefits of your offer, and hopefully convince them to take action.
Remember to pause after a rhetorical question or the effect will be lost. Give your listeners time to process your great  question and mentally engage with you.

8. Follow the Rule of Three

When you are trying to persuade your audience, it is important to follow the rule of three. Psychologists show that information is more memorable when it is presented in threes.

For example, let’s say you are trying to convince your audience to buy a new product. Rather than list all of the features and benefits of the product, focus on three key benefits. This will make your information more memorable and easier to understand. 

9. Be Honest and Authentic

The most important tip for persuading your audience is to be honest and authentic. Your audience will be able to tell if you are being genuine, so it is important to be sincere in your message.

If you are honest and authentic, your audience will be more likely to trust you and believe what you are saying. Remember, if you believe in your ideas and products, let that show in your presentation. Your audience will feel your passion and trust what you are saying. This is the most important factor in persuading your audience, so make sure to keep it in mind! 

How to Persuade an Audience: Next Steps

Using these 9 persuasive techniques, you will be able to prepare and present your executive presentation with confidence. Being persuasive doesn’t mean you need to be misleading. In fact, you can be 100% authentic and persuasive at the same time. When you are having a conversation, stop and think about how you can be more persuasive. It could be for something small like what restaurant you would like to visit for lunch or where your next family vacation might be. You will use the same persuasive techniques discussing family vacations as you would in the corporate sphere.

If you want to discuss your organisation’s (corporate, NGOs, Associations and Universities) Public speaking or Presentation skills needs, I offer free 30-minute consultations through my site. I’d love to meet you.