The Influence Skills
As the TOPS model shows, influence effectiveness is partly a function of the skill with which the influencer uses an influence technique. Like a skilled craftsman, it takes time and practice to perfect those skills.
People who become highly skilled in the areas described below can be extraordinarily effective at leading and influencing other people.
The research on power and influence shows that there are twenty-eight skills associated with influence effectiveness. These skills fall into four categories: communication and reasoning, assertiveness, interpersonal, and interactive.
Communication and Reasoning Skills
The ability to think logically, to analyze problems and identify logical solutions to them.
Analyzing and displaying data visually
Skill at creating charts, graphs, illustrations, and other visuals that clearly convey the relationships among data points and communicate ideas and conclusions clearly in visual form.
Finding creative alternatives
Being creative and innovative; the ability to see alternatives and solutions where others haven’t; skill at “thinking outside the box.”
Skill at asking insightful questions that lead others to the heart of the problem or issue.
The ability to engage people in casual conversation; skill at conversing on a number of topics; being a skilled conversationalist.
Conveying energy and enthusiasm
Bringing energy and enthusiasm to interactions and situations; being naturally energetic and engaged; the ability to get others energized.
Skill at actively listening to others; being engaged in others when they are speaking and accurately hearing and retaining the essence of their thoughts.
Skill at stating an opinion with confidence or force; presenting ideas strongly and affirmatively; maintaining one’s position without becoming aggressive.
Skill at enduring steadfastly; continuing on one’s course despite opposition or resistance; being insistent and tenacious.
Having faith in one’s own judgment, abilities, and rights; projecting firmness and steadfastness in one’s purpose, directions, and goals.
Skill at projecting authority; behaving as though one has the legitimate right to use authority; clearly stating a decision, conclusion, or course of action.
Using a compelling tone of voice
Having a strong, firm, and resonant voice; the ability to command attention when one speaks.
Using assertive non-verbals
Skill at using strong and confident gestures, facial expressions, and body language; projecting confidence and assurance through all the non-verbal aspects of communication.
Using authority without appearing heavy handed
The ability to command others and use legitimate authority without being overbearing, clumsy, oppressive, or harsh. A key skill in using the influence technique stating.
Being friendly and sociable with strangers
Skill at opening up to and engaging with people one does not know; being outgoing and conveying warmth, acceptance, and interest in strangers. A critical skill in the influence technique of socializing.
Showing genuine interest in others
Skill at conveying genuine interest in other people; being authentic in showing care, concern, and curiosity in other people; skill at making others feel important. A critical skill in socializing and appealing to relationship.
Having insight into what others value
Having a strong, intuitive understanding of other people and what is important to them; skill at discerning what others value without them having to say what it is; interpersonal perceptiveness.
Being sensitive to others’ feelings
Skill at understanding others’ emotions and empathizing with them.
Building rapport and trust
Skill at building harmonious and sympathetic relationships with others; skill at conveying trust in others as well as causing them to feel that one can also be trusted; establishing trustful connections with others.
Building close relationships
The ability to create trusted friendships and close relationships with other people; skill at sustaining intimate and friendly relationships with others over a period of time.
Supporting and encouraging others
Skill not only at helping and encouraging others but conveying that attitude as well; giving aid or assistance to others; and promoting, advancing, inspiring, or stimulating others and encouraging them to forge ahead.
Convincing people to help you influence others
Skill at enlisting others’ support and assistance in influencing others; skill at building agreement and cooperation and a unified sense of purpose, particularly in approaching others and trying to persuade them as well. The most critical skill in the influencing technique of alliance building.
Resolving conflicts and disagreements among others
Skill at managing conflict; the ability to identify core issues, find creative and mutually acceptable solutions, and reduce the emotion in situations that prevents resolution; skill at mediation.
The ability to mediate differences of opinion and reach solutions that others can accept; skill at creating harmony and agreement among people who initially disagree.
Taking the initiative to show others how to do things
A strong interest in and desire to teach others; skill at coaching, teaching, advising, and helping others in developing their skills and abilities. An essential skill in the influencing technique modeling.
Bargaining or negotiating
Skill at reaching agreement with others over an exchange of things of value; skill at discussing terms and reaching a satisfactory agreement in a settlement, bargain, or deal. Crucial to the influencing technique of exchanging.
Willingness to ask others for favors
The ease and comfort with which one is willing to ask other people for something done or granted out of kindness or good will. An essential ability in appealing to relationship.
Willingness to do favors for others
One’s willingness to do something or grant something to others out of kindness or good will and with no expectation of renumeration. An essential ability in appealing to relationship.
Influence Skill Difficulty and Potential Impact
The table below lists the twenty-eight influencing skills, the difficulty each skill is to master, and the potential impact each skill can have on leading and influencing others. The skills are ranked according to potential impact and then by difficulty. Bargaining or negotiating, for instance, has very high potential impact but is also a difficult skill to master. Conversely, persisting has low potential impact and is easy to master. In developing your leadership and influencing skills, you will have more leverage with the skills having the greatest potential impact, even though many of them are difficult to master. These rankings are based on twenty years of research on power and influence that I conducted at Lore International Institute, which is now part of Korn/Ferry International.
|Influence Skills||Type of Skill||Difficulty||Potential Impact|
|Convincing people to help you influence others||Interaction||Very high||Very high|
|Resolving conflicts and disagreements among others||Interaction||Very high||Very high|
|Using a compelling tone of voice||Assertiveness||Very high||Very high|
|Bargaining or negotiating||Interaction||Very high||Very high|
|Using authority without appearing heavy handed||Assertiveness||High||Very high|
|Taking the initiative to show others how to do things||Interaction||High||Very high|
|Building consensus||Interaction||High||Very high|
|Behaving authoritatively||Assertiveness||Very high||High|
|Using assertive non-verbals||Assertiveness||Very high||High|
|Having insight into what others value||Interpersonal||High||High|
|Probing||Communication and reasoning||High||High|
|Finding creative alternatives||Communication and reasoning||Medium||High|
|Supporting and encouraging others||Interpersonal||Medium||High|
|Building rapport and trust||Interpersonal||Low||High|
|Building close relationships||Interpersonal||Very high||Medium|
|Showing genuine interest in others||Interpersonal||Medium||Medium|
|Conveying energy and enthusiasm||Communication and reasoning||Medium||Medium|
|Listening||Communication and reasoning||Medium||Medium|
|Logical reasoning||Communication and reasoning||Low||Medium|
|Willingness to ask others for favors||Interaction||Very high||Low|
|Being sensitive to others' feelings||Interpersonal||High||Low|
|Analyzing and displaying data||Communication and reasoning||High||Low|
|Willingness to do favors for others||Interaction||High||Low|
|Being friendly and sociable with strangers||Interpersonal||Medium||Low|
|Speaking conversationally||Communication and reasoning||Low||Low|
Copyright © 2010 by Terry R. Bacon. All rights reserved.