How Influence is Power

The Feminine Touch

In the boardroom or meetings where ideas and plans are discussed, those with the most impactful displays hold sway over which way the company progresses with its current and future goals. As a female forging her own way in a world still heavily populated with men, this is intimidating. How do you even start to impact those that seem set on fighting your every argument?

Tossing aside those that won’t bend simply because they are stubborn, knowing how to influence others to support your vision is not hard.

Believe in your message

Of the many ways to approach the situation, passion, above all, is the biggest source of power.

Recall great orators and performers. The best have total belief in what they are doing. This, then, radiates outward to the audience, pulling them in and holding sway over how positively or negatively they view something. As an entrepreneur, this is essential, as many of your dreams are untested, requiring complete investment by you before anyone will feel safe enough to join.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

If you have never taken a debate class, do so. Without a doubt, there will be questions and arguments against your presentations and knowing how to defend your plans is half the battle.

While many performers and presenters have a built-in charisma, this is not the reason behind their success.

Through research and preparation, you can build a defense against every question you can think of before it is even asked. This will also allow you to find weaknesses and fix them so that your vision is steadfast in light of all foreseeable outcomes. If you have trouble finding passion, this will leave you with a sense of power that will translate as such.

Know your audience.

As mentioned before, female entrepreneurs generally go up against an almost fully male body of employees. Instead of decrying the injustice of it all, use this to your advantage. Study how the male mind assesses ideas and present to that. Take the time to figure out what information the audience will find most useful and most enticing. Through grabbing their attention and keeping it held with what they deem as useful packets of information, you engage them, making your perspective that much more valued and entertained.

Some argue that such a thing as influence is impossible to achieve without natural talent, but this is false. While many performers and presenters have a built-in charisma, this is not the reason behind their success.

Knowledge and catering to the audience are huge facets behind success or failure, and for women, this is no different. Taking the rocky path of a female entrepreneur or leader in a company makes it that much more essential to study the art of influencing others to fall in line with your plans. Once this is achieved, there is arguably no dream that cannot be accomplished.

Nicole Dominique Le Maire

Nicole Dominique Le Maire is an HR Expert and co-author of the book The Female Leader, Empowerment, Confidence & Passion available here:http://thefemaleleader.biz