Here are five tips on persuasion from Benjamin Franklin:
- Be clear in your own mind about exactly what you’re after.
- Do your homework so that you are fully prepared to discuss every aspect and respond to every question and comment.
- Be persistent. Don’t expect to “win” the first time. Your first job is just to start the other person thinking.
- Make friends with the person with whom you are bargaining. Put your bargain in terms of his or her needs, advantages and benefits.
- Keep your sense of humor.
Source: Leadership … With a Human Touch, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, NJ, 1999.