Tuesday, March 15, 2016
COMMUNICATION - HOW TO AVOID YOUR IDEAS BEING TABLED
Most
people in business get what they deserve!
If they
do a good job of presenting their idea, they get what they deserve. If they do
a poor job, they also get what they deserve.
Do you
believe you get what you deserve during meetings?
If not,
or if during your meetings little post action occurs, then perhaps you are
ignoring the the top 5 reasons Executives and Decision Makers table an issue.
1. Poor
Preparation
One Exec
said, "I can always tell when someone isn't prepared. They stumble when I
ask them questions. They also don't seem to anticipate that I will need
proof."
Another
Exec said, "I loathe when people waste my time and aren't prepared."
Think
about the last time you tried to sell an Exec or Decision Maker an idea. How
long did you spend preparing? Did you do more than throw a few slides together?
Did you sit down ahead of time and try to figure what questions will be asked
or what analyses might be requested?
2. Faulty
Strategy
A Director
of Innovations at a technology company said, "I am all about big ideas,
but I have to follow your argument. You can't be jumping all over the place,
leaving me to figure it."
When you
meet with an Executive or Decision Maker, are they able to easily follow your
logic?
Do all of
your points lead to the same conclusion?
3. Lack
of Clarity
Steve
Jobs once said, "Decisions are easy when ideas are simply explained, but
you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple."
Some of us
over-talk an issue. We use a lot of acronyms. Our sentences are very
complicated with lots of phrases and clauses. We often make up words. Nouns are
turned into verbs and vice versa.
Ask
yourself, "Is your argument clear and simple?"
4.
Dubious Benefits
EC has
worked with Executives and Decision Makers who interrupt presenters right up
front if the benefits to a proposal aren't apparent nor relevant to their
priorities.
One of
these Exec's famous line is "Yeah, so what! Why should I care?"
People
reporting to this Executive know that they must link ideas to things that are
top of mind for the Exec. The presenter cannot speak in generalities.
Do you
support any benefits with metrics? Are the metrics tied to what is important to
the Executive?
5. Lack
of Confidence
"Unconfident
people scare me. I wonder why they are in charge." This is a comment we
at EC hear frequently from clients who
are Executives and Decision Makers.
People
who show they are nervous rarely get a positive result.
One Executive
said, "Act like you belong." Executives just want to have a
CONVERSATION.
Confident
speakers look people in the eye. They don't read from their notes or slides.
They don't rush.
Having a
carefully thought out message is, of course, important, but give the same
amount of attention to how you will deliver it.
Getting
what you want and deserve from a meeting doesn't happen by accident. It should
never be left to chance. Avoid being disappointed by paying attention to what
Executives and Decision Makers feel is important in a CONVERSATION!
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by effectivecommunication.com.au
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