There is going to be a moment, certainly this week, likely tomorrow, in which you will want to convince someone of something. Perhaps you will want them to partner with you on a project or simply order take-out from your favorite restaurant.

The (often failed) approach most people take is to express all the reasons their solution makes sense TO THEM. They will talk about what they feel or the research they’ve done, and every bit of it will make perfect, irrefutable sense TO THEM.

The problem with this approach is they haven’t considered what their counterpart cares about.

Want to be more persuasive? Become relentless about understanding the wants and needs of the people you work with and for. Doing so will afford you the ability to make your argument in a way the other person is most likely to relate AND waste less time trying to convince them of something to which they are never going to agree.

The New York Yankees are clearly, undeniably, overwhelmingly the most successful franchise in the history of baseball. Facts. But don’t think for a second I’m going to roll into Fenway Park and persuade a single Red Sox fan to agree with me.

Stephen Covey said it best in Habit 5 of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

(Want to learn more about how to better understand your peers and make more compelling arguments? Let’s jump on a quick call!)