The ability to persuade those around you is a key skill for achieving success, both professionally and personally. And in today’s organizations, which increasingly involve teamwork and collaboration, persuasion has become paramount. Prof. Brian Leggett analyzes what persuasive communication is, and how managers can make it work for them.

Executive Summary
In today’s companies, the ability to communicate persuasively has become an essential skill. Gone are the days of hierarchical organizations in which information was delivered top-down, and there was little need to win over superiors and colleagues with your ideas and opinions. All that has changed, says Prof. Brian Leggett, who has recently published a book titled, Developing Your Persuasive Edge. In this article, he outlines the three key elements of persuasive communication: credibility, environment and argumentation. He also explains why rhetorical tools such as metaphors, examples, analogies and illustrations are essential in persuasive communication and how, as Aristotle pointed out long ago, any orator must be both a logician and a psychologist.

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