“They think they’re pretty good,” the executive vice president said of his team of 200 senior leaders at a Fortune 500 corporation. “They keep telling me that ‘their people’ need help in presenting dry information. But actually ALL of them need help. They get too far into the weeds. They do a data dump. They [...]
Just because somebody is bent on bringing up all the cons to your point or detailing all the pitfalls if you’re wrong, don’t think that all is lost. You don’t have to do a point-by-point rebuttal. Many decisions—maybe even most—are made in spite of all the negatives identified and discussed. Brace yourself and wait out [...]
If you’re having difficulty getting people to accept your point, take the time to investigate their points. Your willingness to investigate and listen goes a long way in demonstrating your integrity and intelligence. People resist change because it creates uncertainty. Maybe your idea will work, and maybe it won’t. What if the group invests time [...]
Don’t stop at recognizing the signs of resistance. Get the reservations on the table. When people seem reluctant to accept your ideas, be persistent in uncovering the reason. You can’t respond to an unasked question. You can’t calm an unspoken fear. You can’t compare options if you have no idea what the other options [...]
Some people voice their resistance openly: “I’m not interested.” “I don’t think the idea will fly.” “I can’t give it my full attention until next year.” Others gesture their resistance: clock watching, foot or finger tapping, playing with objects within reach, doodling on paper, or staring out the window or door. Others look for distractions [...]
Our account executive picked up the phone on the first ring yesterday: “Booher Consultants. How may I help you?” Caller (gruff, sarcastic voice): “Well, did you finally find your phone?” Account Executive: “Pardon me?” Caller (yelling): “Did you finally find your phone?” Account Executive (deciding someone must have the wrong number because we don’t get [...]
Certain objections in the workplace are, unfortunately, standard: “We’ve never done it that way before.” “We can’t afford to.” “We can’t afford not to.” “It’s risky.” “Let’s let somebody else work out the bugs and then we’ll see.” “We’ve got too much invested in the status quo.” “We don’t have the time to devote to [...]
If you answer a question or objection and the person seemingly jumps to another issue without giving your answer much thought, pay attention to that behavior. That question is serving as a decoy to cover the real reluctance to go along with your proposed idea. When the question is for real, the other person listens [...]
When someone raises a question, think of bridging. How can you answer and then bridge back to a key point that you want to make? Question: “How long did you say delivery on the widgets would take?” Answer: “Delivery will take about six weeks; that’s why we need a decision this week.” Question: “How [...]
If you were the decision maker, what would you want to know before giving your approval? Go through the five Ws as prompters: have you covered who, when, what, where, and why, and also how and how much about your answer? If not, prepare to do so. Dianna Booher, an expert in executive communications, is [...]
