Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Do you work with any grumpy people? Most of us do. Getting these complainers to relax and open up is a great exercise you can do to practice your powers of persuasion. Softening up these types requires exactly the same kinds of skills that you need to calm down agitated customers, convince people that you are trustworthy, and bring people around to your way of thinking in any situation. And building stronger relationships is something that can benefit us all. Here are some tips for transforming negative attitudes and persuading people to align with you:

1. Get them talking. Complaining coworkers and critical customers often just want to vent and be heard. If you listen and sympathize, they will see you as a friendly advocate. Ask questions about what’s wrong and what could be done to fix the problem. You might think you need to deliver your pitch to change someone’s point of view, but it’s actually more important to listen to their arguments and work with them in subtle ways.

2. Compliment them. Disgruntled folks often feel unappreciated or unrecognized. Tell them what you like about them and what makes them unique. Of course, you don’t want this to come off as insincere, so focus on the qualities that you truly admire in this person. He feels misunderstood by the whole world, but you get him. That’s priceless.

3. Help resolve their problems. If you can fix the problem, by all means, do it. If it’s out of your hands, help come up with ideas on how to resolve it through other means. We’re all looking for people to help us solve our problems, and when we find people who can do it well, we hang on tight. Prove yourself to people, and they will want you by their side.

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1. […] Here are the seven posts I’ve selected for this week’s edition. Peter Brinckerhoff at Mission-Based Management says nonprofits need to push back to avoid being under-funded and over-worked in On Strike. Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog reminds us to use words that make sense to our audience, not just to ourselves in Private Language in Public Places. Watch the lingo and buzzwords! Ken Goldstein at the Nonprofit Consultant Blog wonders, are there Too Many Nonprofits? He explains that while mergers are sometimes worthwhile, merging just for the sake of “efficiency” can leave needs unserved. Toby Bloomberg at the Diva Marketing Blog reviews a new book on nonprofit marketing called “Robin Hood Marketing“ Dave Lorenzo at Career Intensity Blog offers tips on dealing with grumpy people in Practice Your Powers of Persuasion. Lelia Johnson at Data-Scribe Blog reminds us to watch who we include in the To: field of our emails in Sending Email to Lots of People. Mike Burns at Nonprofit Board Crisis says boards that are too polite are setting themselves up for Mediocrity. […]

   Pingback by Nonprofit Communications » Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, Edition #1 — June 12, 2006 @ 12:02

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