Mastering Persuasion: 7 Proven Strategies to Influence Your Leadership Effectively

Kostya Gorsky, Design Lead at Intercom and former Design Director at Yandex, shares key insights on how to present your ideas to leadership and be truly heard.

Kostya Gorsky

Design Lead at Intercom, former Design Director at Yandex. He has taught interface design at Moscow State University and MAI. On his Telegram channel Design & Productivity, he shares insights on design, productivity, and life.

Every professional reaches a point where communicating with senior leadership—clients, top managers, or business owners—becomes essential. This interaction can sometimes feel challenging, and you might feel misunderstood or underestimated.

Here are several actionable tips to help you communicate persuasively and achieve your desired outcomes.

1. Avoid Creating Divides Between Experts and Non-Experts

Remember, everyone is simply a person working towards a common project goal. Focus your conversation on the core essence of the project.

2. Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems

Always approach leadership with a problem paired with a potential solution. Presenting solutions speaks the language of decision-makers and opens the door for constructive discussion or refinement. Presenting problems alone can come off as frustrating or unproductive.

3. Prepare Thoroughly for Meetings

Preparation is key, especially when meeting with senior leadership. Do your homework: understand the topic deeply and anticipate possible questions. Even brief meetings require readiness to provide clear, confident answers.

4. Clearly State the Meeting’s Purpose from the Start

Make your objective unmistakable. If presenting, your first slide should clearly convey what you want to achieve. Skip lengthy introductions and get straight to the point to respect everyone’s time.

5. Support Your Claims with Data and Facts

Avoid subjective opinions or negative remarks about colleagues or competitors. For example, instead of saying, “Our website design is terrible,” say, “Our website's conversion rate is 1%. We developed a new version, and initial A/B tests show an increase to 5%.” Facts build credibility and trust. Without them, it might be premature to engage in discussion.

6. Offer Multiple Options to Increase Acceptance

Instead of proposing a single solution, present several alternatives—ideally three—and explain which you recommend and why. Providing choices makes decision-making easier for leadership.

7. Facilitate Decision-Making by Highlighting Impacts

Explain the benefits of implementing your proposal and the risks or costs of delay. Make it easy and comfortable for leadership to say “yes” by clarifying the positive outcomes.

Remember this communication framework with senior leaders: meeting goal — problem — facts — solution options — reasons why it will work.

Applying this approach consistently, not only with top management but in all professional interactions, can pave your way to becoming a top manager yourself.

*Note: Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram are restricted in certain regions.

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