Persuasion is a powerful tool used to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, intentions, motivations, and behaviors. It is the process of changing a person’s viewpoint or decision making, often without the person even realizing it. This is achieved by using logical, ethical, and emotional persuasive techniques to alter or deepen an individual’s understanding of a certain issue or concept. Persuasion can appear in various aspects of our daily lives, whether in business negotiations, political speeches, or social interactions. It fuels lot of life’s important decisions like where to invest, which career to pursue, or which products to buy. Influencing people, on the other hand, is a more subtle and complex process. It involves understanding people at a deep psychological level, their underlying needs, wants, fears, aspirations and using this information to guide their actions or decisions. Rather than direct persuasion, influencing is more about creating an environment where individuals feel empowered to make certain decisions on their own. Influencing people requires empathy, emotional intelligence, and excellent communication skills. It is more about building trust and rapport, and less about winning an argument.