People may Forget what you Say or Do, but they will Never Forget how you make them Feel

It’s time for #motivationmondays!

Do you know someone who is super smart, but for some odd reason, people don’t like that person?

Yes, I believe we can all name at least one person who is like that.

Have you ever wondered why, despite being very intelligent, people seem to dislike that person?

This is the reason.

People may forget what you say or do, but they will never forget what you make them feel.

Let that be a simple reminder to always think about before you go respond to people.

If you want to find out about some techniques I can share that I personally use with great effect, then read on.

Here’s an example – instead of saying “I think you’re wrong. Here is the correct answer.”

You can use the Like-Concern-Suggest technique.

By doing so, you can instead say something such as “I like your idea, but my only concern is (xxx). My suggestion is that we do (yyy). Do you think that makes sense?”

It’s a technique that can be used to build on other people’s ideas, and is great to set as ground rules during brainstorming sessions.

The Makes Sense technique is another delivery method you can use, even separately from the Like-Concern-Suggest technique.

“Would you think it makes sense if we (abc)?” is framed in such a way that you are not forcing your solution to a person.

By saying Yes, it makes them feel like a sensible person, at the same time, they have ownership of the solution, since it is something that has been agreed upon.

Using these techniques, you can be delivering the exact same message across, all while making people feel good about themselves, and feel empowered to move forward with the solution.

And these techniques have worked for me regardless of what role or level of stakeholder I deal with, from top leadership to frontline staff.

Do you think this makes sense? If so, I hope you find this to be of value.

If you have more techniques or examples to share, please reply with a comment. I would love to hear from you.