Will you be more influenced by what I say, or how I say it?
Getting ready to show our expertise
I was in my best suit. I was standing a bit off to the side with some other specialty consultants. We were watching the lead architects set up for our interview. As a team, we had made the shortlist to win a contract for a new building. It was our turn to present to the selection committee.
I was excited but also nervous as it was the first time that I was representing my firm on my own.
We got a signal to start, and just then… our first slide disappeared from the screen!
Shifting to show teamwork and adaptability
It was a classic technology failure. A quick assessment determined that we needed to just ditch the projector.
The laptop was put on the table. It was turned toward the committee so that a few of them could possibly see some of the images. As such, none of us would have any visual prompts.
As a result, instead of a screen, I was frequently looking directly at the committee. I was also supporting my teammates with encouraging facial expressions and hand gestures.
I delivered my message about my work plan and the key challenges ahead, with boiled down simplicity and sincerity.
Influencing through actions more than information
Our team won the job!
We showed that we were a team and not a random collection of specialists. We also showed some real vulnerability.
That experience continues to be a strong reminder to me that impressive knowledge and expertise alone isn’t persuasive. Every project will have unforeseen challenges (even perhaps in the interview!), so showing creativity and teamwork can perhaps be even more influential.
An exercise for your influence muscle
So here’s an exercise to help you strengthen your influence muscle:
- Today, pick a recent book you’ve read (or an article, a show, a podcast)
- Then identify one element of it that you really appreciated
- Through the week, briefly share that element with three different people. It might only be two sentences in an email or a short conversation.
- At the end of the week, notice how easy or hard it was to be succinct while also genuine, and notice how you felt when you shared it
