How to convince your boss you’re right, in 3 steps, without getting fired
It’s not always easy to convince your employer to see things your way. It is never easy to convince anyone of anything. This is why they invented the art of debating and negotiating. It is considered a great skill to persuade your audience to believe or do something.
But what about your boss? How would you go about convincing your superiors they’re doing something wrong and making a bad decision?
So far, I’ve found a few things to have results when persuading your superiors. I’m going to share three of them here, hoping you’ll find them helpful:
Step 1: Be patient and (go figure) respectful
I think a saying fits perfectly in this situation: you catch more flies with honey. Keep your anger in check and patiently reiterate your point giving valid explanations and examples as many times as it needs.
At some points or aspects of your work, you may know more than your boss. You’ve been working, researching and analyzing a particular topic for a while now. Have patience, and you’ll get the outcome you want.
Step 2: Be prepared
You project confidence onto others when you’re sure of yourself and your knowledge. They see it, and they also start trusting you. And confidence comes from knowing all there is to know about your topic and being prepared.
Suppose we’re talking about an online meeting. In that case, this can easily be achieved if you spend some time preparing your agenda for the gathering.
Sessions is a video conferencing platform that brings together meeting and collaborative tools. It’s great because all the apps and platforms you may need for complex, well-structured, and engaging gatherings are in one spot.
Sessions has integrations with Google Docs, meaning you’ll be able to work collaboratively with your boss and teammates without leaving the platform. You can also share your presentations, visuals and videos by uploading them to Sessions and then displaying them in your meeting.
It makes you look exponentially more prepared and professional. It also gives the impression that you’ve spent a few good hours in advance preparing the meeting when the truth is… it takes you far less time.
Step 3: Be informed
Know your audience, both your colleagues and clients. It’s crucial to have their opinion or feedback in real-time so you can adjust if necessary. One easy way to do that is to use surveys and polls. It’s easy to use Google Forms or Surveymonkey, but switching to external tools or apps is proven to harm your audience’s engagement and attention when you’re in a meeting.
In Sessions, however, this problem disappears because it has a native Form that allows you to create surveys and polls directly on the platform. It also has great integrations with Slido and Mentimeter, two powerful tools dedicated to engaging audiences.
In the end
Maybe the best piece of advice I can give you is to know when to quit. Not your job, just trying to win this argument. As they say, you might win the battle, but it might mean you lost the war!
