Exercising Influence: A Guide for Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and in Your Community, 3rd Edition

Chapter 14Choosing and Using Influence Behaviors to Achieve Your ObjectiveHow to Create Your Approach

A beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reviewing the Influence Framework

During the preliminary influence planning process, you have established your objective and thought about the person you're influencing and your influence relationship. You've explored other factors in the context into which you'll be influencing. All of this information will help you choose your tactics—the behaviors you'll consciously choose and use to move toward the result you want to accomplish—that will help you achieve your objective.

Look over the notes you've made and highlight the things that seem especially significant to this influence opportunity. In general, the more important the influence opportunity, the more elements you'll take the time to consider. Now you're ready to develop a plan of action.

Selecting the Most Useful Behaviors

Tables 14.1 and 14.2 show criteria for selecting behaviors that will be most effective in your situation. You've probably already made a preliminary choice. In many cases, you'll simply confirm this. However, the criteria will enable you to notice where context issues could make a particular behavior less effective than you would like. In that case, you can either select another behavior or, if there really is no practical alternative, ...