Leadership Secrets for Emotional Persuasion: The Brain Science of Persuasive Powers

Do you work in an organization where leaders are good at persuading others? Do the leaders of your organization appeal first to emotion rather than logic or reason when trying to influence others?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is: Am I persuading by first appealing to emotion rather than logic when persuading others? Emotionally intelligent leaders influence others by appealing to emotions. Are you effective in influencing people? Do you focus on appealing to people’s emotions? Are you inspiring people to achieve their goals by emotionally involving your people?

The brain science of persuasive powers

If we only pay attention to appealing to logic and reason when trying to influence others, we will not unlock the full potential of our persuasive powers. Research on the brain during decision making reveals that we respond to persuasive attempts analytically or automatically.

Those who respond analytically use a reasoned evaluative approach to make a decision, but this requires enormous energy. The brain uses glucose and calorie stores every time it evaluates. And because it is human nature to conserve energy, most of us will not respond with the extra effort required to be analytical.

In fact, most people go into autoresponder mode whenever possible. We avoid cognitive assessment because it is hard work. This does not mean that we are lazy; it is actually a primitive survival instinct. We automatically take the easiest way to conserve energy in case we are attacked or threatened. That is why most people do not act with logic and reason. We make emotional decisions and then justify them with logic and reason.

Working with an experienced executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments like Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a transformational leader who persuades people by appealing to emotions. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and inspires people to happily commit to the company’s strategy and vision.