Everyone wants to feel like their opinion is appreciated, but getting your boss and colleagues to pay attention to your ideas and suggestions isn’t always straightforward. Even if your recommendations have the power to improve business performance, ensuring decision-makers get the message can take considerable time and resilience.
Developing in-depth persuasion techniques can improve how seriously your ideas are considered at work. This form of workplace communication can help you position yourself as a trustworthy voice looking to help the business function more productively. Here, we explore several techniques behind the art of persuasion to help you stand out in the workplace.
1. Collect information
Before addressing your boss with a professional recommendation, you need to understand all the essential information. If you don’t have a clear picture of the issue, you might overlook a crucial data point that renders your advice irrelevant. Always conduct in-depth research to ensure your suggestion is appropriate for the situation.
If you’ve identified an issue that constantly frustrates the team, record individual instances to have something tangible to discuss with management. Preparing this information ahead of time also shows that you’ve put serious consideration into your idea, giving you the best chance of getting taken seriously. This persuasion technique underpins the entire recommendation process.
2. Establish trust
New hires often want to make an impact on the business. If you’re a new hire, both management and your colleagues might have difficulty enacting your advice if you’ve just arrived at the business, even if suggestions might be on point. First, you need to establish trust with the relevant stakeholders to overcome this workplace communication issue.
Strong opinions can be seen as a positive trait, but be careful not to step on any toes with suggestions that go against the grain. Instead, build confidence with those around you by listening more than speaking, seeking feedback on your work and honouring commitments. After showcasing your credentials, making a radical suggestion won’t seem so unrealistic.
3. Collaborate with others
Making a recommendation at work doesn’t mean you have to tackle the issue alone. You can discuss your ideas with relevant colleagues to get their advice and ensure your concept will deliver on its claims. When you take the suggestion to your boss, the support of your team will also give you more confidence.
Talking over your ideas with colleagues will help you see the big picture and avoid embarrassing mistakes. For example, if you discover that you’re the only one experiencing a problem, you might be approaching the issue from the wrong perspective.
4. Deliver consistently
If people don’t believe in your work, they likely won’t appreciate your ideas to improve the business. To ensure your recommendations are adopted at work, you must foster an incredibly high standard for professionalism and workplace performance. Earning this reputation is bound to give your suggestions more weight in the office.
So, what can you do to deliver more often? It starts with the basics like arriving on time, dressing professionally and showcasing exceptional workplace communication, improving how your team works together. Once you’re recognised as one of the best in the business, gathering information and presenting a recommendation is entirely justified.
5. Anticipate questions
One of the best persuasion techniques for getting your suggestions across the line is anticipating questions from management. However, this is only possible if you understand the issue so well that you foresee the holes that your boss might attempt to poke in your suggestion.
You can predict how people might have budgeting or managerial concerns by getting to know the issue and developing a well-reasoned action plan. Then, you can reflect on these problems beforehand to prepare excellent responses and give management the confidence to sign off on your idea.
6. Choose the right moment
Sometimes getting your ideas approved is more about your timing than the suggestion itself. To give yourself the best chance of success, pick the right moment to approach your boss. Ideally, ask about scheduling a quick private meeting at a convenient time.
This way, you can present a short but precise presentation on your recommendations to convince your boss that your ideas have the power to improve business performance. Using this communication strategy and the art of persuasion, you can get management to endorse your suggestions.
