Did you know that there are at least four distinct roles that you can play as an influencer? Whether you are a manager or not, a person with a formal leadership position or someone who is respected and valued without an authority-granting title, your ability to influence others is a critical competency needed in today’s work environment. Influencing and persuading others can be a powerful skill that helps teams, projects and processes move forward.

Here are four influencing roles you can play.

Teacher: When influencing as a teacher, remember your job is to explain, clarify, and instruct in a way that the learner feels comfortable and not threatened.

Promoter: The promoter is working to persuade others to consider an idea, concept or project.

Explorer: Influencing skills are used to help brainstorm new ideas, improve a process or think outside the box. You lead the effort to innovate. 

Inspirer: Influence others to raise the bar. Improve something. Your words create a call to action that helps others move to commit to a higher level.

The next time you are in a situation requiring influencing skills, think of the role you are being asked to play and why. It will help you to focus your message and find the right words to affect your audience and create change.

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Barbara Phillips, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, authored this piece.

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To find out how Learning Dynamics can help your organization maximize the influencing power of your people, visit our website or call 1-800-3SKILLS.