day 298: Persuasion

We all know people at work who are more persuasive than others. It seems like no matter what they tackle and who they have to convince, they are able to persuade, convince and win over others. Sometimes it is their knowledge, other times it is their experience, but mostly it is their ability to influence and how they use their personality and communication skills to persuade other people. A lot of times these are also people we like because they have figured out how to connect with many different types of people. The other characteristic that makes them so persuasive is that they have confidence that others may think cannot be possible. It is like the confidence is automatic and unwavering within these individuals. It's impressive. When we look at these people and then compare ourselves, we likely ask the question, "What is it that they have, that I don't?" Once dissected past the skills, knowledge and experience, looking at confidence levels is probably most important area to becoming more persuasive. No one can be persuasive if they lack confidence in themselves and their position. I not only see this regularly in business but also in many people's lives outside of work. As believers there is no reason for us to lack confidence in anything we do, because if we take the power of God with us into every situation, then we can go forward with all the confidence needed. We read this in Ephesians 3:12; "Because of Christ and our faith in him,we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence." This says that if we can go to God boldly and confidently with our needs and issues, then we can rise from His throne with the same confidence and boldness. From there, we can walk forward with that underlying foundation of being persuasive. The more persuasive each of us can be, then the more others will look at the examples within our lives that make us different and our lives intriguing to others. Today, think about what it is that you need to be more persuasive.

Reference: Ephesians 3:12 (New Living Testament)