10 Mobilising others
10.1 Introduction
Convincing others is one of the most important competences for entrepreneurial behaviour. As an entrepreneurial person, you have thought of an initiative which you want to carry out. This requires the cooperation of several stakeholders: obviously those for whom the initiative is intended (customers or clients), but also those who may join the organisation to help (employees and team members), and who want to make resources available (for example investors or suppliers). In new initiatives, the product or service, the possible organisation and also the entrepreneur himself may be unknown or may not have a track record. All of this creates uncertainty among stakeholders as to whether everything will turn out successfully. This makes it important to be good at convincing others. And because convincing is a process that works both ways (you convince the other, but the other also convinces you), it is double important to be competent at convincing others.
All stakeholders have their own goals, expectations and beliefs. The better you are able to know and understand the other, the better you can tailor your approach to them. The first paragraph below is therefore about 'the other'. We then move to ‘the self’. In your approach you can vary in how you present yourself as reliable and credible, what arguments you use, and what emotions you want to convey in order to convince the other person. The Greek philosopher Aristotle called these factors ethos, logos and pathos respectively, and this is the subject of the second paragraph. Convincing also involves non-verbal behaviour. This is the subject of the third paragraph.
All stakeholders have their own goals, expectations and beliefs. The better you are able to know and understand the other, the better you can tailor your approach to them. The first paragraph below is therefore about 'the other'. We then move to ‘the self’. In your approach you can vary in how you present yourself as reliable and credible, what arguments you use, and what emotions you want to convey in order to convince the other person. The Greek philosopher Aristotle called these factors ethos, logos and pathos respectively, and this is the subject of the second paragraph. Convincing also involves non-verbal behaviour. This is the subject of the third paragraph.
10.2 Insights
Convincing starts the with other person
However much the entrepreneurial person thinks it is all about his or her project, the other person will take himself or herself as the starting point. Because entrepreneurship is about creating value for others [see: Spotting opportunities], this is especially true for the buyers of what you offer. The better you understand their needs, wants and points of view, the better you can connect to them, and the better you will be able to win people over. Sometimes there is only a single moment in which you attempt to convince someone, and if you do not succeed, you try again with the next person. Often, however, mobilising others does not involve a single moment, but a longer process, sometimes even months or years. It is therefore important to have perseverance [see: Motivation and perseverance]. Especially if the persuasion process is lengthy, it is important to have a good relationship with this person. You then build up a relationship with the person you want to convince. It helps if you have already built up a positive relationship with the person you want to convince [see: Mobilising resources]. Convincing in the context of entrepreneurial behaviour is therefore more about winning someone over than defeating someone.
Stephen Covey uses the following slogan: first understand, then be understood (see box Further Reading [1]). According to Baron and Markman, being able to put yourself in another's shoes involves both thinking (being able to think from the other person's point of view and needs) and empathy (being able to feel what the other person is experiencing) [2]. Sometimes it is immediately clear where your interests and those of the person you want to convince coincide, but often it requires some effort to find out. It helps if you are curious, know how to ask good questions, and are a good listener. The more different the other person is from you, the harder it can be to put yourself in their shoes. Those who are good at dealing with people who are different from themselves are at an advantage here [see: Mobilising resources].
Aristotle: Ethos, Logos and Pathos
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) described that successful persuasion involves three modes, which are used simultaneously in each case, although in varying amounts: ethos, logos, and pathos [3].
Ethos is an ancient Greek word and concerns the credibility, trustworthiness, and authenticity of the person who is trying to convince the other person. Ethos is not an attribute of someone - it is how others see you. So it is important to be good at showing those others that you are someone with a high ethos. To demonstrate your credibility as an entrepreneur, you can, for example, point to previous successes that you have achieved, or diplomas that show the knowledge and skills you have. You will be seen as trustworthy if you have a reputation and track record of honesty and integrity [see: Ethical and sustainable thinking], and if others recommend you. It is important to promote yourself. This is different from bragging. If you don't show what you have done and achieved, your audience can not judge your worth properly. Your authenticity is enhanced when you are enthusiastic about your initiative, and believe in what you are doing. Someone who is convinced of what he or she is doing, will more easily convince others. Convinced people are more convincing.
Logos involves the provision of arguments and assertions. You can substantiate these claims using statistics, facts, testimony, experiments, and demonstrations. Logos makes an appeal to someone's reasoning skills. In logos you have to choose whether to present many arguments or just the few most important ones. Sometimes you have to repeat arguments in a different form if people do not immediately understand what you mean or are convinced.
With pathos, you are making far less of an appeal to someone's reasoning abilities. Instead, you convey a certain emotion. Any emotion can be appropriate, for example positive ones like hope or pleasure, or negative ones like fear or anger. Pathos can also involve an appeal to ideals or virtues, or vices. You can also appeal to needs, such as status, sex, power or justice. Many TV commercials are predominantly based on pathos: there is hardly any time to properly present ethos and logos, so they mainly try to convey a feeling. Pathos makes extensive use of images and stories.
Non-verbal behaviour
Baron and Markman treat expressiveness and impression management as factors contributing to successful persuasion [2]. Convincing others involves non-verbal behavior to a considerable extent. Good persuaders come across as confident and authentic. Body posture can help: they adopt an open attitude, by standing up straight, for example. The use of the voice also plays an important role, for example in terms of speed (slow, or alternation of fast and slow, use of pauses) and pitch (low, especially at the end of a sentence) [4]. Nonverbal behavior is important because if words and nonverbal behavior conflict, more value is placed on the nonverbal behavior by the audience.
However much the entrepreneurial person thinks it is all about his or her project, the other person will take himself or herself as the starting point. Because entrepreneurship is about creating value for others [see: Spotting opportunities], this is especially true for the buyers of what you offer. The better you understand their needs, wants and points of view, the better you can connect to them, and the better you will be able to win people over. Sometimes there is only a single moment in which you attempt to convince someone, and if you do not succeed, you try again with the next person. Often, however, mobilising others does not involve a single moment, but a longer process, sometimes even months or years. It is therefore important to have perseverance [see: Motivation and perseverance]. Especially if the persuasion process is lengthy, it is important to have a good relationship with this person. You then build up a relationship with the person you want to convince. It helps if you have already built up a positive relationship with the person you want to convince [see: Mobilising resources]. Convincing in the context of entrepreneurial behaviour is therefore more about winning someone over than defeating someone.
Stephen Covey uses the following slogan: first understand, then be understood (see box Further Reading [1]). According to Baron and Markman, being able to put yourself in another's shoes involves both thinking (being able to think from the other person's point of view and needs) and empathy (being able to feel what the other person is experiencing) [2]. Sometimes it is immediately clear where your interests and those of the person you want to convince coincide, but often it requires some effort to find out. It helps if you are curious, know how to ask good questions, and are a good listener. The more different the other person is from you, the harder it can be to put yourself in their shoes. Those who are good at dealing with people who are different from themselves are at an advantage here [see: Mobilising resources].
Aristotle: Ethos, Logos and Pathos
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) described that successful persuasion involves three modes, which are used simultaneously in each case, although in varying amounts: ethos, logos, and pathos [3].
Ethos is an ancient Greek word and concerns the credibility, trustworthiness, and authenticity of the person who is trying to convince the other person. Ethos is not an attribute of someone - it is how others see you. So it is important to be good at showing those others that you are someone with a high ethos. To demonstrate your credibility as an entrepreneur, you can, for example, point to previous successes that you have achieved, or diplomas that show the knowledge and skills you have. You will be seen as trustworthy if you have a reputation and track record of honesty and integrity [see: Ethical and sustainable thinking], and if others recommend you. It is important to promote yourself. This is different from bragging. If you don't show what you have done and achieved, your audience can not judge your worth properly. Your authenticity is enhanced when you are enthusiastic about your initiative, and believe in what you are doing. Someone who is convinced of what he or she is doing, will more easily convince others. Convinced people are more convincing.
Logos involves the provision of arguments and assertions. You can substantiate these claims using statistics, facts, testimony, experiments, and demonstrations. Logos makes an appeal to someone's reasoning skills. In logos you have to choose whether to present many arguments or just the few most important ones. Sometimes you have to repeat arguments in a different form if people do not immediately understand what you mean or are convinced.
With pathos, you are making far less of an appeal to someone's reasoning abilities. Instead, you convey a certain emotion. Any emotion can be appropriate, for example positive ones like hope or pleasure, or negative ones like fear or anger. Pathos can also involve an appeal to ideals or virtues, or vices. You can also appeal to needs, such as status, sex, power or justice. Many TV commercials are predominantly based on pathos: there is hardly any time to properly present ethos and logos, so they mainly try to convey a feeling. Pathos makes extensive use of images and stories.
Non-verbal behaviour
Baron and Markman treat expressiveness and impression management as factors contributing to successful persuasion [2]. Convincing others involves non-verbal behavior to a considerable extent. Good persuaders come across as confident and authentic. Body posture can help: they adopt an open attitude, by standing up straight, for example. The use of the voice also plays an important role, for example in terms of speed (slow, or alternation of fast and slow, use of pauses) and pitch (low, especially at the end of a sentence) [4]. Nonverbal behavior is important because if words and nonverbal behavior conflict, more value is placed on the nonverbal behavior by the audience.
10.3 Further reading
[1] Covey's classic in management literature is still relevant today. Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster.
[2] A classic article that discusses a variety of social skills in the context of entrepreneurship. Baron, R.A. & Markman, G. (2003). Beyond social capital: The role of entrepreneur's social competence in their financial success. Journal of Business Venturing, 18, 41-60.
[3] Written nearly 2500 years ago but still relevant today. Aristotle (1954). Rhetoric. Translated by William Rhys Roberts. New York: The Modern Library.
[4] Numerous resources on the Internet provide good insights and exercises regarding non-verbal behavior. Some examples:
https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen?
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180612-the-reasons-why-womens-voices-are-deeper-today
[2] A classic article that discusses a variety of social skills in the context of entrepreneurship. Baron, R.A. & Markman, G. (2003). Beyond social capital: The role of entrepreneur's social competence in their financial success. Journal of Business Venturing, 18, 41-60.
[3] Written nearly 2500 years ago but still relevant today. Aristotle (1954). Rhetoric. Translated by William Rhys Roberts. New York: The Modern Library.
[4] Numerous resources on the Internet provide good insights and exercises regarding non-verbal behavior. Some examples:
https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen?
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180612-the-reasons-why-womens-voices-are-deeper-today
10.4 Exercises for students
1) Convincing starts with the other person
Convincing requires that you have insight into the thought patterns and the emotions of the person you want to convince. It is important not to assume that your beliefs of what the other person thinks and feels are necessarily true. The trick is to be receptive to new information.Give your students the following assignment:
Make a list of ten people you will meet this week (classmates, roommates, friends, relatives, work colleagues) and try to find out something about each of them that you did not already know. This could be anything: a talent or hobby they have, something from their life history, their attitudes towards certain topics, etc..
Clarification: In convincing, it is important that you can put yourself in the other person's shoes. Curiosity is a good quality, because it enables you to look beyond the limits of your own assumptions and prejudices.
2) Aristotle: ethos, logos and pathos
In persuasion, whether in a job interview or when a child asks her mother if she can have something sugary, ethos, logos and pathos can always be used. For example, on some cigarette packets you will find statistics about the chance of getting cancer (logos), from a reliable source (ethos), with a picture of a rotting lung (pathos).
Give your students the following assignment:
Work in groups of three. Each member of the group shares a recent situation in which he or she had to convince someone. In turn, the other two group members give the one who presented the situation examples and tips on how ethos, pathos, and logos could have been used.
Explanation: When persuading, it is important to develop an eye for which means you can use. By becoming aware of ethos, logos and pathos, you can vary your approach according to the situation, and according to the beliefs and needs of the other (see exercise 1 below).
3) Non-verbal behaviour
Successful persuasion is not achieved by verbal arguments alone. People are also convinced by the non-verbal signals that you give. In a large part of our daily interactions with others, we try to influence each other in one way or another. This ranges from large requests ("Can you lend me 1,000 euros?") to small requests ("Can you pass me the salt?"). By displaying non-verbal behaviour that radiates certainty, you have a greater chance of convincing the other person.
Give your students the following assignments:
Explanation: By consciously displaying non-verbal behaviour which makes you come across as more confident (compared to how you normally act, standing up or sitting down, speaking more quietly, speaking in a slightly lower tone of voice), you come across as more convincing.
Convincing requires that you have insight into the thought patterns and the emotions of the person you want to convince. It is important not to assume that your beliefs of what the other person thinks and feels are necessarily true. The trick is to be receptive to new information.Give your students the following assignment:
Make a list of ten people you will meet this week (classmates, roommates, friends, relatives, work colleagues) and try to find out something about each of them that you did not already know. This could be anything: a talent or hobby they have, something from their life history, their attitudes towards certain topics, etc..
Clarification: In convincing, it is important that you can put yourself in the other person's shoes. Curiosity is a good quality, because it enables you to look beyond the limits of your own assumptions and prejudices.
2) Aristotle: ethos, logos and pathos
In persuasion, whether in a job interview or when a child asks her mother if she can have something sugary, ethos, logos and pathos can always be used. For example, on some cigarette packets you will find statistics about the chance of getting cancer (logos), from a reliable source (ethos), with a picture of a rotting lung (pathos).
Give your students the following assignment:
Work in groups of three. Each member of the group shares a recent situation in which he or she had to convince someone. In turn, the other two group members give the one who presented the situation examples and tips on how ethos, pathos, and logos could have been used.
Explanation: When persuading, it is important to develop an eye for which means you can use. By becoming aware of ethos, logos and pathos, you can vary your approach according to the situation, and according to the beliefs and needs of the other (see exercise 1 below).
3) Non-verbal behaviour
Successful persuasion is not achieved by verbal arguments alone. People are also convinced by the non-verbal signals that you give. In a large part of our daily interactions with others, we try to influence each other in one way or another. This ranges from large requests ("Can you lend me 1,000 euros?") to small requests ("Can you pass me the salt?"). By displaying non-verbal behaviour that radiates certainty, you have a greater chance of convincing the other person.
Give your students the following assignments:
- (For those who make themselves physically small): Stand or sit in a way that expresses confidence. You do this by keeping your back straight, your shoulders slightly back and looking straight ahead (instead of down). It does not help to stand in an exaggerated position (power posing). Ask about twenty people in the street where you can get a coffee nearby (or ask for directions). Use the above described posture.
- (For those who speak in a higher tone of voice when they make a request): Ask again twenty people in the street where you can have a coffee nearby (or ask for directions) and do the following. Speak in a slightly lower pitch than you are used to. Especially at the end of the question try to keep the pitch the same or at least not to let it rise much.
- (For those who think they speak too fast): Form pairs and tell what you did on your last holiday. When doing so, speak at a slightly slower speed than you are used to doing. Try to keep the pace calm and constant throughout the conversation.
Explanation: By consciously displaying non-verbal behaviour which makes you come across as more confident (compared to how you normally act, standing up or sitting down, speaking more quietly, speaking in a slightly lower tone of voice), you come across as more convincing.