#133: Leveraging Consensus
The Communicate to Influence Blog
All of us face situations where we need to persuade someone who may view us as not having a position of authority. We can be authorities in our own area of expertise, however as soon as we move outside that area we may lose our position of an authority. A lawyer is not an authority on medical matters, not a doctor on matters of law.
In the workplace, less senior executives often find themselves dealing with senior management from across the business. The importance of communicating with authority is critical not only to increase the chance that our suggestions are followed, but also to impact others perception that we are competent and worth taking seriously. Fortunately, there is a simple and universally effective approach to improving our influence in such situations where we don’t have authority: leverage consensus information.
Consensus information refers to what others are saying, doing or thinking with respect to a given situation or behaviour. Consensus information is readily available for most topics; establishing appropriate commission rates, the latest anti-inflammatory medicine, the most effective AI engine etc. We have all this information available online while more specialist information such as market trends and client insights are attainable with some additional effort.
When we refer to past precedent, current trends, research articles, actions of relevant others etc. it demonstrates that we are prepared and understand our position. While arriving at this position requires preparation, it’s well worth the time investment. To quote Benjamin Franklin; “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail”.
By being prepared with consensus information we turbo charge our argument; the other side not only has to disprove our position, but that of those we quote. It naturally follows then, that the more respected the source of our consensus information, the more powerful it will be in swaying opinion. We should therefore seek supporting information from well established sources; for example official bodies or well respected individuals or lacking this, multiple sources. The larger the power gap between two counterparts, the more effective this approach becomes: consensus information can reduce the ability of more powerful counterparts to force their terms on junior parties by triggering the ethics of a position.
One final comment: while using consensus information to support our position can be impactful, on its own it’s not always enough. When our position also comes from a place of belief and commitment, is aligned with our objectives and is intended to genuinely benefit others (not only ourself), it becomes far more compelling.
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