Influence in product management is persuading others that your product vision is the right one.
How Humans Deal With Persuasion
Approach One: Natural, intuitive, and subconscious
Whether we are the ones receiving or expending opinions, we make them seamlessly. Decisions we make are below our consciousness.
Also, decisions engage us on an intrinsic level and are mainly binary that is yes or no.
Approach Two: Deliberate, cognitive, and literal
Here decisions are literal and descriptive. We do not easily agree because the initiator needs to have done the research and the receiver requires to be attentive. The receiver tends to justify their disagreement with data and other arguments.
How To Avoid Cognitive Bias
Being a leader means that time and time again you may need to change your approach in addition to being open to new methods and tools.
In order to avoid bias make sure to:
1. Keep it simple
The easier your idea is the easier it is to persuade people
2. Surprises are a no-go
People do not like to be persuaded swiftly since they become doubtful and feel like they are being manipulated to make a decision.
3. Make your idea agreeable
Make it easier for those who agree with you to agree and put action on those who disagree.
4. Control comparison
People like comparing an idea to a number of substitutes. The idea is to shift the focus to the substitutes that matter and aid your idea.
5. Keeping arguments to a minimal level
Whenever you start an argument while making an idea known is allowing your listeners to regard you as non-influential, which we do not want.
6. Argue forwards
It is always better to argue how new ideas will improve things instead of looking at the past where assessment might have been wrong.
7. Always play the long game
Your listeners matter more than the decision you are persuading them to agree on, they may persuade you too and you need to be cooperative to establish a relation for future interactions.