A front page article in Saturday’s Washington Post starts very simply: “Paulson’s Powers of Persuasion Persuasion Tested.” As Secretary of the Treasury, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, Henry M Paulson Jr. has the credibility, the power, the authority to trigger the requisite emotional response from congress to his request for a $700 billion bailout package. Or does he?

Since credibility and authority are excellent emotional triggers, where did Paulson go wrong? Well, he blew his credibility. How? Two weeks ago he told congressional lawmakers he had no intention of bailing out Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae. A week later he did what he said he would not do. Credibility lost – Authority trigger questionable. The financial bailout delayed.

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Several large surveys show that most people believe a logical discussion, with good data and the right logical supporting facts, is the best way to persuade. Often, they break the persuasion process down to three main steps:

1. Present your proposition clearly, with conviction.
2. Present your supporting data, with the right facts, logic and information.
3. Structure your "deals" and move on to closure.

But according to Dr. Jay Conger, Director of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California Business School, "Following this process is one surefire way to fail at persuasion."

Why?

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You can have anything you want, yes, anything! All you have to do is to persuade someone to decide to do what you want. The most successful people in the world are those who can get things done with and through others. By applying new scientific breakthroughs, it’s now quick and easy to get “Yes!” decisions and actions.

Before persuading others to say “Yes!” let’s take a quick look at our own decision process. Only when we understand how the brain makes decisions can we successfully influence others’ decisions

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History shows that persuasion skills are critical for everyone who wants to succeed—even for the President of the United States. In his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, Richard E. Neustadt states, "There is a widely held belief in the United States that a reasonable President would need no power other than the logic of his argument." That belief is naive, inaccurate.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was one President who could have benefited from better persuasion skills. As a career army officer, he expected people to do as he said—he didn’t need to know how to persuade. But when he reached the Oval Office, things were different. And because he was not a persuader, he amassed a poor record of getting things done.

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