Steps in the Persuasion Process
There are many ways to persuade others, although you will probably be most successful using a combination of several methods. Consider all approaches before you actually set the wheels in motion to go about persuading someone. Social psychologist William McGuire lists six such steps: presenting, attending, comprehending, yielding, retaining the new position, and acting .
Presenting
You can't persuade anyone of anything unless he or she is in the right place, at the right time, to receive the message. If the person doesn't read the proposal or hear your presentation, your message is not going to penetrate and be persuasive at all.
Attending
The person may be in the right place at the right time to read your proposal or see your presentation, but not pay any attention to it. They might be thinking of something else. The person must attend or pay attention to the message if you are to have any hope of persuading them.
Comprehending
If the person can't understand your message, there isn't much chance that he/she will be persuaded. The point is that you have to use a message that your audience can comprehend. If you don't, your message may be technically perfect, but it will fail to communicate, and thus fail to be understood.
Yielding
If the person got the message, and understood it, but remains unmoved from his or her previous position, communication has occurred but persuasion has not.
Retaining the New Position
If your message has successfully persuaded someone to change their position, but has not been successful enough to make that person retain their new attitude over a period of time, for all practical purposes this attempt at persuasion has failed. It is not enough to get the message through. That message has to be retained long enough for the desired action to occur.
Acting
Assume that your message was remembered and that you actually were persuasive enough for someone to retain a particular attitude. However, it was not successful or persuasive enough to get any action. You have been partially successful, but you may not have achieved what you set out to do.