Physician executives' persuasive styles of communication in downward influence situations.

In the January-February 1991 issue of Physician Executive, the author reported on the persuasive strategies used to influence both attractive and unattractive subordinates. The focus in the earlier study was on what was communicated. In this investigation, attention is devoted to the way physician executives communicate. The results strongly suggest that physician executives' communicator style preferences are affected by whether or not they like or dislike the subordinates they are attempting to persuade.