HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across (HBR Guide Series)

Change the Way You Persuade

A summary of the full-length HBR article by Gary A. Williams and Robert B. Miller, highlighting key ideas.

THE IDEA IN BRIEF

Your proposal was brilliant; your logic, unassailable; your argument, impassioned. So why didn’t your boss buy it?

Perhaps you took a one-size-fits-all approach to persuasion. But different people use different styles when deciding to accept an idea: Each wants certain kinds of information, at specific steps in the process.

There are five common but distinct decision-making styles: charismatic, thinker, skeptic, follower, and controller. One decision-making style isn’t better than another. But to tip the outcome your way, understand your listener’s preferences—then tailor your persuasive efforts ...