Personal Impact and Influence – Where Most People Go Wrong

Want to make the right first impression with your customer or client

? Be remembered at networking events? Be noticed by the right people at work? Get your ideas heard? Having the right kind of impact and influence, or making the right impression are clearly of vital importance.

So what do you need to really focus on to have more personal impact and influence? What is it that you have to concentrate on to make the right impression? The answer is not what most people think it is, it isn't you. It's "them" not "you". Spend a few precious minutes thinking about the target or subject of your impact and influence.

Influence comes originally from the Latin meaning "to flow into". You want something of you to flow into them. But like food and drink, you can serve it up but unless they've got an appetite and it looks attractive, they won't touch it. The "something" that people often talk about is "charisma" and there is, quite simply, no way of manufacturing it. It is not what you've got, but the effect you have on people. If charisma could be manufactured then everyone from soccer clubs to soap stars would have us in their fan clubs and we would be faithful followers.

Forget the elevator pitch and your killer catchphrase and think about your audience. Ask yourself what you know about them and what would have impact and influence on their thinking.

Ten minutes preparing for personal impact can pay huge dividends. Think about influencing by design not by accident. Here are the fundamental questions to ask yourself about the person you want create the right impression with:-

1 How do they operate in group interactions and meetings? Do they lead the conversations and think aloud or take a more reserved approach, think before they speak and do more listening than speaking?

2 How detailed are their conversations and contributions? When speaking, do they give a lot of detail, facts and data or do they tend towards headlines, trends and concepts?

3 How do they decide? Do they only consider the logical, scientific data or do they think about how the decision will affect people? Does "right" for them mean logically correct or socially correct?

4 How do they structure schedules, meetings and time? Do they have an organised and controlled approach with written plans and objectives or do they operate more flexibly and respond or react to things as they emerge?

You cannot control them but you can control you. That means you will start by matching the way they tend to operate. If they are quiet, reserved and thoughtful think how you might approach them. Would it be better to go in all guns blazing with your rehearsed elevator pitch or talk a little and ask some careful questions? If you think "all guns blazing" you're wrong and you're thinking about you not them. You'll overwhelm them and they'll look for the quickest exit route.

The best way to prepare for influence by design (rather than by accident) is to complete the ClearWorth Personal Impact and Influence Questionnaire (the PIIQ) and receive a fully customised 10 page report on your strengths and weaknesses and unique insights into how to work with the other person.

Personal Impact and Influence Where Most People Go Wrong

By: Clive Hook

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