In public relations, we focus on drawing out stories – stories behind companies, executives and announcements, among other things. Once we draw out these stories, we then strategize around how we can reach target audiences with them – through editorial coverage, winning awards, placing bylined articles, etc.

Typically, the means to translating a story into results for a client is the “pitch.” Whether applying for an award, proposing a topic for a bylined article, or offering up an executive as a source for a news topic, part of securing results for a client is developing an excellent pitch.

A critical element of pitching is building a case for your story. In order to do so, you must be persuasive on a regular basis. Jason Nazar, CEO of Docstoc, recently contributed a piece to Forbes, “The 21 Principles of Persuasion.”  Jason’s 21 tips are an overview of his popular talk, “How to Persuade People.” I selected a few of Jason’s tips that are particularly relevant to PR below.

1.)    Persuasion is not manipulation

Whether pitching a journalist or pitching a new business proposal, it’s important to remember that any engagement should be a win-win situation for both participants. Manipulating someone is not going to set you up for success – understanding the difference, and being able to recognize where the line is between persuasion and manipulation, is critical to being an effective persuader.

2.)    You have to be interested to be persuaded

Directing your efforts toward someone with no interest is a waste of energy, for both participants. If someone is not “buying what you’re selling,” effective persuasion is going to be difficult. For example, if you’re sending a blast pitch to journalists covering beats that are completely out of whack with the story you’re pitching, you’ll find little success, no matter how persistent you might be.

3.)    Communicating clearly is key

In strategic communications, being a clear communicator is essential. However, it can be easy to become immersed in a story and lose sight of an outside perspective. For example, if you’re submitting a company for an award, you might be so immersed in your client’s compelling story that you lose sight of some of the basics – what does the company do that’s unique? Why is the category important? Communicating clearly is key to being persuasive.

Learning to be persuasive is a helpful and extremely transferrable skill throughout business. In public relations, we’re constantly working to get our clients’ stories out there – being persuasive is a key element of this work. The ability to be persuasive is beneficial beyond public relations –    whether you’re building an argument around why you’re the best candidate in new business, working to gain additional resources from your organization, or presenting an opportunity to a client or co-worker, the ability to be persuasive is essential in any field.

For more about persuasion, see:

• TIME: 3 Ways to Use Persuasion to Get What You Need
• Harvard Business Review Blog Network: Change the Way You Persuade

For more from Communiqué about effective pitching, see:

• Five Tips for Pitching the Media during the Holidays
• Tips for Pitching the Media through Social Media
• The Forgotten Power of the Phone Call
• Pitching Notes: A new tool for PR pros
• How to evolve pitching strategies in response to “Page-view Journalism”
• Pitching Tips from Media Pros: BusinessWire Media Roundtable