One effective way to structure communication and ensure you can persuade is to use four stages:
- Situation-where are we now, what are the circumstances and issues?
- What is the problem, the complication?
- What is the question that arises from the situation and complication?
- What is the answer?
These four steps allow you to bring the other person through certain steps to arrive at a shared solution or answer. This allows you both to be on the same side.
The alternative is to impose an answer from the outset by simply jumping straight to the answer.
This is much less effective than the shared journey and arrival at the same solution.