Why is influencing relevant to testing?
So influence is the skill to affect something to your ideal. So influence skills are important for a tester as the topic of testing is generally misunderstood within other areas of software development. So you need to be able to influence people in order to be able to teach them about good testing practices.
Do you have any examples?
So the rule of reciprocation is a great influence technique where if you do a positive favor for someone then they will be subconsciously obliged to return the favor. You've got rejection and retreat which is an influence technique that's made possible by the contrast principle where if you feel an idea that you want to pitch will be flat out rejected, pitch another idea that seems less appealing so that it gets rejected. And the second idea, the real idea you want to pitch, seems much more appealing.
What's the value?
So influence skills can definitely help you overcome difficult situations as a tester. Many people have many misunderstandings of testing such as when you hear things like automate all the testing or testing is just checking requirements. Influencing techniques can help open the door to communicate to those people to teach them about what testing is and what good testing looks like.
Are there any pitfalls?
Influence techniques can sometimes be confused with negative manipulation activities. Some people confuse things like bribery and guilt tripping as influence, but they're not. It's important to remember that sometimes influence techniques don't work, and it's also important to remember that you may actually be trying to influence incorrect messages based on your own misconceptions. So be aware of your own biases in the ideas that you're trying to promote.
