The ability to be very specific about what you want to achieve will help you to influence other people far more effectively. Many people start with a general aim, e.g. to gain support for their personal development plans. This lacks bite and makes it harder to achieve. Far better is to be able to describe your goal in specific terms which others can easily understand and more easily agree with. An influence goal of “By the end of the month, my boss will agree to fund my attendance at the Talent Management Conference in New York” is far more likely to help you get what you want.
Often influence falters because other people do not understand in enough detail what they are being asked to agree to. Greater clarity will help them to decide to support you or, indeed, uncover specific reasons why they cannot support you. Either way, you will move forward on your goals more quickly.
Take action on this secret…
- Review each of your goals against the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).
- Consider how you will know that you have succeeded. What will be the evidence?
- Tighten up the specification as needed.
- Test your wording with friends.
- Consider — will someone know just from the wording what you want to do?
And remember, the easiest way to get someone to agree is to help them understand exactly what you want.
