Convincing: an Art.

Convincing. A special Art. An unusual Art. An interesting Art. But above all, an Art. (No, I’m not in need of a grammar lesson. It is such an in-depth form that it must be referred to as an Art. An art simply won’t do. It doesn’t have that air of royalty.) How many times have we had to sweet-talk our way out of trouble? How many times have we had to persuade our siblings to do something? How many times have we had to prove our point to others? Go ahead, I can wait till you finish counting.

Just the other day, my friend and I were discussing an exam we’d attempted. Here’s how the conversation went:

Friend: Hey Niru, what answer did you mark for Q.3?

Me: 3? I marked Option C!

Friend: No, you’re wrong! It’s D!

Me: No – because the sine of 90 is equal to 1 and multiply that by the root of 2 and divide it by 4, 4 times and multiply that with the first equation to get option C. (My actual lecture was longer and more confusing. I merely shortened it for this post. Ask my friends. :D)

My friend shrugged, and absolutely convinced that her answer was wrong, went to consult the math teacher.

There’s always that moment when you simply have to convince someone. When you desperately need to persuade them. There’s a whole art behind it. Convincing someone can be really easy if only you know how to do it.

I’m going to break this down into four steps.

1. ‘Setting Up For Success.’

Planning is essential. I do not, by any chance, mean elaborate and detailed schemes. You’ve got to be ready before you even try convincing people.   You’ve got to appear confident. That is key to being persuasive.   If you aren’t sure, why should they be? Stand up straight, look people in the eye, smile, and keep your voice even and enthusiastic to exude confidence. To do that, you’ve also got to know what you’re talking about. Do the research. Spend some time getting to know the subject. While you’re at it, prepare for the arguments against yours. Almost everybody in this world...