Influencing is communicating with a goal in mind. You will most likely get what you need when you ask for things in a way that clearly shows why it is in that person’s best interest to comply with your request. For example, if you’re trying to secure computers for your team, demonstrate why it’s in your boss’s best interest to provide those resources. (For example, you’ll be able to collect the data that his boss has been asking for.) If you do that, there is a very good chance you will have a signed purchase order on your desk in no time.
Photo illustration/Eric Audras/Altopress/Newscom/File
