Be Convince-able

"Before you try to convince anyone else, be sure you are convinced yourself"
 
How do you get convinced?

When deciding what you want as an outcome around something, it is important to not only know what you want, but also how often it has to happen for you to be convinced.

Let’s say you have a new person join your team and everyone is making up their mind about whether that person is competent. Some people will have an automatic response to them; they will either look at them or hear of one thing they’ve done and decide immediately whether they are competent (this is called an ‘automatic convincer filter’). 

Others in your team will need to have two or three positive experiences to be convinced that person is competent (this is called a ‘two/three time convincer filter’). 

Some people will need a period of time, such as six weeks or two months (this is called a ‘period of time convincer filter’). 

And some people need to consistently see, hear or process experiences of that person to be convinced of their competency (This is called a ‘consistent convincer filter’).

The response we have to being convinced of a situation is an automatic and subconscious filter we run. Each of these responses have their appropriate place in our world. For example if I buy a new car, I want to know the ‘quality control checker’ examining the car has a 'consistent convincer filter'. This means they will carefully check each and every car before passing it as safe, whereas someone with a several time convincer filter might say “Well the first few cars in the line were fine, so I’m sure the rest are fine too!”

Generally people with a several time convincer filter aren’t drawn to such detailed jobs anyway.

 Equally for someone with an automatic or several time convincer, their ability to quickly sum up people or situations will serve them in a management situation. This can explain why some managers can know you’re good, trust you and leave you to your work, and others may continually micromanage you. It can explain why some people make up their mind immediately about someone, and others need some time to form an opinion.

To discover your convincer filter, or someone else’s, ask yourself the following questions:
• What would have to happen for you to be convinced (eg that this person is competent)?
• How often would that have to happen for you to be convinced?

We run our convincer filters in each and every situation where we need to be assured or make a decision about something, for example when summing up people, buying things, or deciding on a new job, house or car. Knowing your convincer strategy and those of the people around you, enables you to increase your ability to make decisions easily, which in turn improves your performance.

Convinced yet?