11 Topics and Techniques for Getting Buy-in from Your Boss, Peers, and Team
- Step out of your shoes.
Spend time anticipating what another will say and how you will respond to his/her objections instead of rehearsing your own story. - Accommodate other personality types.
Develop self-awareness of your own personality type and adapt your communication style to another’s personality type. - Establish peer level communication.
Treat another as an equal. His or her time is just as important as yours. Learn about what’s important to him or her. - Listen more than you speak.
Ask powerful questions. Listen for objections, perspectives and ideal outcomes. - Narrow the resistance.
Clarify the objections and discuss potential next steps. - Agree with objections and focus on benefits.
Don’t defend against resistance. - Appeal to another’s self-interest.
Logic makes people think. Emotion makes people act. - Shift another’s perspective.
Ask another, “Just for a moment, what if we looked at the situation from my shoes? Or from Joe’s shoes?” - Create familiarity.
Make people feel comfortable by highlighting that others have been there and done that. Highlight that others have experienced the same challenges. - Ask for permission.
Use phrases like “May I ask you?” “Would you be willing to?” “May I play devil’s advocate?” - Demonstrate credibility.
Talk about your ‘three good reasons’ to show that you’ve given this a lot of thought.