27 Powers of Persuasion, by Chris St. Hilaire

Whether in work or in one's personal life, most people have to persuade others at some point. 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies will help you develop the skills to make persuasive arguments. Although "seduce" might be overstating the case, this book does provide a lot of tips on how to get others to think about things in a different way and open them up to your viewpoints.

Author Chris St. Hilaire starts out by advising readers to focus on the goal. It's too easy to be distracted by details and positions when discussing options, and it's important to remind everyone involved to think about the end goal. That ensures that everyone's on the same page; it's less about how we get there and more about finding the best solution to achieve our goals. Each chapter in this book is numbered Power #1, Power #2, etc. They include helpful discussions about evaluating the egos in the room; using the first five minutes to make people feel safe; framing the discussion in terms of choice, fairness, and accountability; and using (just a few) statistics to bolster your case.

I found this book helpful in making me think about how I frame new ideas or approaches to work situations. Some of Mr. St. Hilaire's examples, especially those from the political sphere, seemed a little manipulative to me, but most examples were useful and could be applied to many situations. This book would be a good (and very quick) read for any manager. I read it in just a few hours on a flight from Albany to Minneapolis.

Chris St. Hilaire with Lynette Padwa. 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 2010. 204 pages. ISBN 9780735204591.