March 17, 2008PowerPhrase ~ How would you suggest I respond when you do that?
Mike’s first reaction to any new idea is almost always to say “no.” Mary Ellen was frustrated by a difficult discussion where she tried to get the work load redistributed. She was relieved the next day when Mike confessed that he had become aware of his habit and apologized for blocking her ideas.
She might have left well enough alone, but she knew it was likely that Mike would follow the same reflex again in the future, so she asked,
- How would you suggest I respond when you do that?
They set up a code word and agreed that she would use it when he said “no” reflexively in the future.
That’s the kind of communication negotiation I write about in my new eBook Unite and Concur.
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