Tell me about a time you had to convince someone who disagreed with you

• That you tried to understand before trying to persuade. Consultants spend their time getting recommendations adopted by people who never asked for them, and the ones who succeed start by listening to their reasons.
• That the resistance was real. If the other person gave in at the first argument, there was nothing to win. The story must show a genuine disagreement, with valid reasons on the other side.
• That you adjusted your method. Repeating the same argument louder does not count. What matters is the moment you changed angle because the first one was not working.
• That the relationship survived. Winning against someone you still have to work with is a delayed defeat.

1. 1

   State the other person's position fairly

   Explain what they thought and why it was reasonable from where they stood. If you paint them as stubborn, you lose credibility and the story gets less interesting.
2. 2

   Tell your first attempt, even if it failed

   Most true persuasion stories go through a first try that does not work. Saying so makes the account believable and sets up the moment you change approach.
3. 3

   Detail what you did to understand

   A one-to-one conversation, a question about their constraints, data you went to get to answer their specific objection. This is the heart of the answer, so give it half the time.
4. 4

   Close on the result and on what you conceded

   The best stories rarely end in total victory. Showing that the final solution includes part of the other person's objection proves you were really listening.

"During my internship at a logistics company, I proposed changing the order in which a warehouse picked its orders, and the team leader who had worked there for fifteen years refused flatly. My first reflex was to show him my spreadsheet, which predicted a clear time saving. It changed nothing, and looking back I see why: an intern was explaining his job to him with a file.

So I asked to spend two mornings with his team without proposing anything. I found that my calculation ignored a real constraint: some fragile parcels had to be picked last, which broke part of my sequence. I went back to him with a version built around that constraint, and asked him what was still wrong with it..."

This example is made up: it shows the tone and the construction, not a script to memorise. Your answer has to come from your own experience or from the data the interviewer gives you.

• Telling a story where you were simply right and the other person eventually admitted it. With no effort to understand their view, it is a story about stubbornness.
• Going through the hierarchy to win. Getting your manager to rule is not persuading, and it is the opposite of what will be expected of you at a client.
• Staying vague about what you said and did. "I found the right arguments" shows nothing: the interviewer wants the conversation itself.