Development Cooperation Handbook/Designing and Executing Projects/Communication Management/Addressing Resistance

You might have valuable information and great ideas, but unless you can get them across, they are worthless. Persuasion is the ability to induce to undertake a course of action or embrace a point of view by means of argument, reasoning, or entreaty. Persuasion is explicit and direct, while manipulation is implicit and deceptive. Influence is the ability to produce an effect on someone else. Negotiation is a process where two or more people or parties who have conflicting interests attempt to reach agreement when neither side has the formal power—or the desire to use it—to get its own way. There are two types of negotiation: Distributive and Integrative. Distributive negotiations can be thought of as disputes over a “fixed pie.” To persuade others to your point of view you need to show what’s in it for them. You need to highlight how you’re your proposal meets their needs. Establish common ground with others and show how your ideas will lead to shared benefits.


 * Identifying resistance
 * Addressing the Belief that the Project has been Handled Improperly
 * Addressing the Belief that the Project will fail