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ing 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 are. Encourage your decision maker to think aloud so you can either confirm or correct your presentation along the way. |
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Try statements such as: "Why not?" "How do you think your people will like this?" "Do you think your own customers will welcome this change?'' "If somebody comes up with an objection later in the process, what do you think that might be?" "What else would stand in the way?" "Is there anything else that would keep us from moving on this?" "What about other things that would make you reluctant?" "Are there related issues?" "What else stands in the way of an okay?" |
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Keep pushing until you get the resistance on the table. Silence doesn't necessarily mean consent; it may mean that the obstacles are looming so large against what you say that the listener doesn't see the point in even discussing the matter further. You have to see the hurdles to jump them. |
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Tip 331: Investigate the standard causes of resistance. |
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If you're having difficulty getting people to accept your point, take time to investigate their points. Your willingness to investigate and listen goes a long way in demonstrating your integrity and intelligence. |
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People resist change because it creates uncertainty. Maybe your idea will work and maybe it won't. What if the group invests time and money in the new plan and the old one turns out to be better? That fence-sitting period of indecision creates discomfort. |
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A second reason for resistance is the not-invented-here insecurity: "Why did someone else, rather than I, think of that idea?" "This is my department; why are you trying to tell me how to run it?" "What's mine is mine." This insecurity is especially at play if the person with the new idea has less experience or time on the job. |
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Then there's competitiveness. In some situations, if your idea wins, mine loses. |
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Fourth, there are personality issues: I don't like you; therefore, I don't like your ideas or I'm a negative personI don't like anything or anybody. Only after you hear the unspoken concerns and then identify their causes can you set about minimizing resistance. |
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Tip 332: Brace yourself through the negatives. |
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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 all is lost. You don't |
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