Negotiation and persuasion styles and expectations can vary by culture. Here’re 3 common interactions in the Western culture to negotiate and persuade timely delivery of project milestones:
- You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours – invoke the unspoken business relationship maxim of give & take and call in chits.
- What’s in it for them. Describe rewards, communicate why they should care, and express genuine enthusiasm and gratitude.
- Bring out the big guns. Escalate when they fail to deliver on promise.
In any culture, the most gratifying experience for leaders and team members is when you seek to understand people’s communication style and then adapt your approach to negotiate or persuade project milestone delivery. For example, pick up the phone or arrange a visit when they fail to reply by Slack or email. And, a poignant but useful piece of suggestion: don’t be afraid to cut your losses – bad faith is always good riddance.
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