LDRS 410 Leader Persuasion Report
“The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity”.
–Zig Ziglar
Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to examine the ways in which different leaders
persuade their employees or others to undertake new ideas within the framework ofthe
Six Principles of Persuasion and/or Think Win-win.
Basically, you will be required to do some research to find stories and experiences
about how a business leader succeeded or failed to persuade others (customers,
business partners, employees or colleagues)
Note: please use a real-life case. Written cases from textbooks or any other sources
will not be considered as your own.
the Theories:
1. What Is Persuasion?
by Scott McLean
Persuasion is an act or process of presenting arguments to move, motivate, or change your
audience. Aristotle taught that rhetoric, or the art of public speaking, involves the faculty of
observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.1
In the case of President Obama,
he may have appealed to your sense of duty and national values. In persuading your parents to
lend you the car keys, you may have asked one parent instead of the other, calculating the
probable response of each parent and electing to approach the one who was more likely to
adopt your position (and give you the keys). Persuasion can be implicit or explicit and can have
both positive and negative effects. … presenting your audience with arguments in orderto
motivate them to adopt your view, consider your points, or change their behavior.
Principles of Persuasion
by Scott McLean
Six principles
1. Reciprocity
2. Scarcity
3. Authority
4. Commitment and consistency
5. Consensus
6. Liking
2. Think Win-Win
by Stephen R. Covey
Win/Win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human
interactions. Win/Win means that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial, mutually
satisfying. With a Win/Win solution, all parties feel good about the decision and feel committed
to the action plan. Win/Win sees life as a cooperative, not a competitive arena. Most people tend
to think in terms of dichotomies: strong or weak, hardball or softball, win or lose. But that kind
of thinking is fundamentally flawed. It’s based on power and position rather than on principle.
Win/Win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody, that one person’s success is
not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others.
Win/Win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a
higher way.
The Report
Write a 3-4 page (not including title page or reference list) report describing what you
learned from your research. Use APA format with an introduction and a conclusion.
There should be 5 references at least.
In the report:
(1) Give necessary background information about the leader’s industry and
business, such as the stage they are at, the business performance and the
leader’s profile.
(2) Describe the specific situation in which the leader successfully applied the
principles of persuasion for positive results or the other way round. Make sure
you answer all the Wh questions including who, where, when, what, why and
How.
(3) Clearly identify the persuasion skills that the leader has applied by integrating the
case with relevant theories that are properly referenced. Analysis with world
knowledge or common knowledge will not suffice.
(4) Explain what you found most interesting in terms of the persuasive techniques
you learned about.
Guiding questions:
1. What is the situation and the position the leader is in?
2. What are the specific examples of how the leader needed to persuade someone
or a group regarding a project or idea? Specific times when s/he influenced
others, including the circumstances of the situation, what they did specifically and
the eventual outcome.
3. What did the leader do to influence others?
4. What do you identify as the most important attribute that this leader has or does
not have to be persuasive or an influencer?
5. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of this leader’s approach?
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6. …think of your own question.
Rubric
Introduction = /10
Case description=20
Persuasion skill identification and analysis= /40
Conclusion = /10
Grammar = /10
Reference= /10
Total = /100
Percentage of total grade = 15%
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