Persuade, Communicate, Confusion?

Are we persuading people or are we confusing people?

I think about persuasion as one element within a message that is asking the receiver to do something. The message would be asking a person to act either in addition to behaviors and/or beliefs or to change behaviors and/or beliefs. When we are communicating something with action then the message includes the variables that would convince a person, by connecting with the receiver on a personal level.

In today's world we are all receiving a variety of messages that are trying to persuade us. However are we reaching the point where there is so much message clutter that we are becoming confused on what is important. In my organization, we have concerns. There are a variety of employee benefits/ services available, and we are trying to communicate them to staff and persuade them to use these benefits. However our concerns are around the idea that we may be confusing our employees about what is important to the organization with so many messages being sent.

Working for a non- profit organization, I feel that the commitment - consistency theory best applies to how we communicate our internal messages to employees. We are focused on communicating our values and persuading employees to behave a certain way that reflects the mission, vision and values of the organization. "According to commitment-consistency theory, persuading people to comply with a small and seemingly harmless request greatly increases their likelihood of complying with a subsequent larger request." (Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal, 2005, p.232)

An example of how we could use this theory as part of our internal communications strategy would be with our Employee Wellness initiative. We would start by asking employees about their health and commitment to being healthy. From this we would gain the commitment to their personal health and well being. The we would ask the employees to attend workshops that would provide healthy eating tips. Hopefully then the employees would attend the workshop. By attending the workshops they are being consistent with their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Which would also in return to the organization, keep our employee health benefits costs lower with healthier employees.

Being able to understand how persuasion can effect a work environment is important as a leader. Knowing your audience and what is appropriate is a key element to the persuasion process. As a leader we have to be relaible, credible, knowledgeable and trusted source. Which means that understanding the different ways to generate a persuasive communication, is imperative being successful.

Reference

Vaidyanathan, R. & Aggarwal, P. (2005). Using commitments to drive consistency: Enhancing the effectiveness of cause-related marketing communications. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(4), 231-246.