Persuasion is the act of influencing someone to do or believe something through your attitudes, actions and behaviors.  There is a fine line between being persuasive and being overbearing.  In cybersecurity we are often in a position where we are trying to persuade people to use a certain piece of software or a more secure technique.  People often want to make the more secure choice but there are often competing priorities, fear of change, and sometimes, a lack of understanding.  You can help guide people down a more secure path and that is where the art of persuasion comes in.

There are many ways in which you might become more persuasive.  Some of those actions may be:

• Body language
• Logic
• Presenting evidence
• Verbal communication
• Oral presentation

Purpose

There are tons of scenarios in the daily life of a cybersecurity professional where being a little more persuasive may come in handy:

• Making your case to increase your staff headcount or budget
• Discussing the importance of reporting phishing with users
• Talking through a process change with a business unit that increases security
• Asking your boss for a raise