ABSTRACT
The ancient Greeks considered the relationship between influence and persuasion through the art of rhetoric (the art of effective or persuasive speaking and writing) an essential component of effective leadership, placing Aristotle’s three appeals at the centre of their education system. This chapter examines how student can build on their knowledge and skills, their sense of self and their values to build their influence and persuasion at work. The external environment seems to play a prominent role in attitude and attitude change, but that persuasion can also be conceptualised as self-persuasion, the thoughts we engage in or the behaviours that we practice. Civility and niceness are doubtless the foundation for influence and persuasion, but ironically, people who are seen as ‘nice’ are also often seen as weak. Inability equates with lack of power, and student will never truly develop the social effectiveness to influence and persuade those around they without ability.
