The Art & Skill of Persuasion

Learn the art and skill of persuasion designed for professionals working in both finance and other industries; where persuasion skills are essential.

Thoughtful exchange of words between two women near a window

A one-day persuasion course

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Download: Course Outline

Part One

What is Persuasion?

The basics
What do we mean by the art of persuasion?
How is this different from negotiation?
What makes a successful persuader
The qualities of a successful persuader
Influencing and persuading skills
Avoiding the risks of manipulation
Defining persuasion and influence
Principles of Effective Influencing Skills
Self- Belief, Confidence & Assertiveness
Push and Pull styles of persuasion – usually a mixture of both
The psychology of persuasion – the basics

Persuasion Skills Training Exercise: To be treated as fun and entirely optional. Persuading members of the group to do business with you in just one minute

Preparing to Persuade

The importance of planning
How to build trust
“Mocking Bird” Theory
The importance of non-verbal communication, but keeping a sense of proportion
Having built trust, move on to developing rapport
Finding out what others want or need
Active listening
Intelligent questioning
Understanding the importance of perception
Appreciating how you perceive situations may differ from others

Exercise: Persuading a best friend to lend you their new dream sports car when they secretly think you are a reckless driver

Explore What Others Want

How do we do this?
Setting clear objectives
Effective questioning techniques
Realise the values and motivations of others
Hone your listening skills to become better at persuasion
Overcome barriers to active listening
The identification of individual ‘filters’
Dealing with filters
The power of positive thought
Preparing for the persuasion discussion

Exercise: Getting a car fixed by a lazy and indifferent chief mechanic for a sensible price when your car has broken down and you are desperate to continue an urgent journey

Communication Style

This persuasion course explores the range of styles
Choosing styles to meet the situation
Remember your natural traits will always reveal themselves, eventually
Learn the art of persuasion to respond, rather than react
Open, leading and closed questions
The Funnel questioning technique
Understanding values and how to persuade around these
Questioning techniques to understand values and build relationships

Exercise: Persuading a self-important boss to allocate the pay and bonus pool more fairly than just you and him/her

Part Two

Overcoming Resistance

This persuasion skills course teaches you to understand resistance
Why do people resist?
Overcoming resistance without compromising the values of others
Apply a practical 6-step Influence and Persuasion Model
Using FAB to match the needs gathered from customers
Dealing with conflict – handling difficult situations without emotions
Presenting your case with impact, taking the values of others into account

Example: Getting a colleague to lend you a member of staff who you need when they know you have a reputation for over-resourcing your area

State Your Case Persuasively

Planning and preparation
Presenting at the right stage
Adopt strategies that work for you
State your case assertively and convincingly
Knowing the audience
Gathering the content
The 10/80/10 rule for structuring the presentation
Delivering a presentation

Persuasion Skills Training Exercise: Fun session - picking an object at random in the room, persuade the rest of us to buy it from you in a minute or less

Handling Objections

The most challenging for most of us
Identifying frequently encountered objections
The pre-emption of objections
Developing appropriate responses
Realising when to walk away
Dealing with failure well

This persuasion course concludes with a summary and open forum

Redcliffe Training’s persuasion skills course trainer had a fast-track and successful career at Lloyds Bank, where he quickly rose to a senior management position in the private banking and wealth management division. He was then headhunted to join a merchant bank as a main board director, leading the risk management function. With over 40 years of experience in the UK banking and financial services sector, he brings a wealth of practical knowledge.

Since retiring, he has worked as a freelance soft skills training consultant and currently serves as an external Master Trainer at HSBC and Bank of China. He has delivered a wide range of soft skills workshops, including the art of persuasion training, and has helped screen and assess trainers for soft skills capabilities. His expertise includes delivering train-the-trainer programs and creating tailored courses for clients of all sizes, from global corporations to small firms.

Comfortable working with participants at any level, from novices to seasoned professionals, his expertise also extends to Risk Management, Trade Finance, Regulatory Compliance, FCC & AML (Anti-Money Laundering), and Corporate, Private, and Retail Banking.

This persuasion skills training course is specifically designed for professionals in finance and other industries where persuasion skills are critical. It is interactive, engaging, and full of practical exercises to ensure participants learn and apply the core techniques.

Here’s what to expect from this persuasion course:

Increased confidence in your ability to persuade.
Enhanced personal persuasion skills.
A deep understanding of persuasive techniques and how to apply them effectively.
Insight into what makes a successful persuader, with strategies to practise and develop these skills.
Techniques to build trust and rapport before persuading.
The ability to set clear objectives for persuasion and apply the right communication style for any situation.
Tools to overcome resistance and deal with difficult individuals.
How to present your case persuasively and handle common objections.
The acceptance that not every situation can be won, and how to handle setbacks gracefully.

Mastering persuasion is essential for inspiring, driving, and influencing others. This persuasion course not only teaches you how to persuade but also boosts your confidence in applying these skills. With more than 20 years of experience, Redcliffe is renowned for delivering effective persuasive training.
The course trainer is not just an academic but a hands-on expert with vast experience. With huge amounts of vocational experience, he is well aware of the importance of persuasion and persuasion skills training.
A key component of this art of persuasion training course is the director’s willingness and ability to impart both personal experiences and pass on good and bad examples of persuasion and influencing skills. This helps bring the course to life, makes it relevant and helps delegates to “hit the ground running” when they return to their daily work roles.
Having delivered this persuasion skills course to many different organisations ranging from global giants to small firms, we are well aware of the nuances and requirements of different types of financial institutions. Whatever your background, we can help you.
The course is interactive, with case studies that bring the concepts to life. Whether you're working in a large organisation or a small firm, the content is tailored to meet your specific needs. Delegates consistently rate these interactive exercises as highlights of the course.
Our results speak for themselves—feedback from our persuasion skills training course participants has always been excellent.

This course is a must for anyone looking to improve their persuasion skills, regardless of experience level. Whether you're a novice or an expert, this training will provide valuable insights and practical techniques to enhance your abilities.

The skills taught are applicable across industries, making this persuasive course essential for professionals in finance and beyond who rely on persuasion in their roles.

Persuasion is a skill we all possess, but many of us lack the confidence to use it effectively in business settings. Nerves and self-doubt can interfere, but with practice and experience, anyone can improve their persuasion skills.

The essential difference between a good and an improving business persuader is practice and experience; nothing else. We all have the necessary x-factor, but it is tempting at times, out of frustration, to say “No, that’s not me.” But there are two crucial points to remember. Firstly, we all get our people skills in arrears and it is only through practice and experience that we improve persuasion skills because we learn from our mistakes. Secondly, outside of the work environment, we all use skill and persuasion highly effectively and without even thinking about it. Some of us are naturally better than others but if we had no persuasive soft skills, none of us would meet partners, raise a family or be able to organise social events.

Many people regard the “art of persuasion” as a difficult skill to master — but it most certainly is not and it doesn’t have to be. Practice and experience followed by practice and experience are the keys.

This enjoyable art of persuasion course has been designed to be fun and highly interactive. It has been tailored to meet the needs of professionals who need to build relationships within their organisation. Whether you need to get colleagues on your side, encourage those in a sales or an account management role to be more effective, or to better manage potentially difficult customers or situations, we know we can help.

Persuasion skills training will leave you feeling empowered to persuade, reduce resistance to new ideas, and handle challenging situations with confidence. By practising effective communication and persuasion techniques, you’ll be better equipped to deal with difficult people and scenarios.

The trainer cites many real-life situations. He does so with humour, but the point is made abundantly clear!
The Role Plays were interactive and enjoyable.
The persuasion knowledge and techniques shared during the training were insightful, entertaining and relevant. Skills such as Push/Pull and Anchoring are techniques I can use with my internal stakeholders, such as Directors, management and budget holders. The breakout exercises further brought the skills to life and gave context in a scenario setting. The breakout exercise which I was able to perform delivering back news was very fun and enabled me to test some of the lessons I learnt that day.

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