On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Getting People to Listen to You

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Getting People to Listen to You Sometimes it can be difficult to really make yourself heard at work. You give suggestions, but they seem to be ignored. You offer opinions in a meeting, but no one really pays attention. You can never get more than a minute of the bosss time.Perhaps the problem is not what youre saying, but how and when youre saying it.Lets say that youre on the agenda of the next office meeting to give a brief rundown of a project youve been working on for several months. Youve been scheduled as the next to the last item, right after a speech on parking lot safety tips and just before a note about employee benefit enrollment deadlines.Chances are good that people will not be alert and listening by this point. In fact, theyve probably started using their Blackberries to respond to e-mails, or text messaging their friends to say that theyre bored spitless in a meeting and cant wait to escape. In this case, you should work hard to have your position on the agenda changed before the meeting. Be cause no matter how interesting your project is, people are probably not going to be in the mood to be receptive and excited about it, simply because theyre tired and fed up and bored. Instead, by getting an earlier time slot, you have a better chance of getting others to listen to you.Another way to get others to pay more attention to what youre saying is by joining forces with an already popular person or group. For example, if someone in your office has just gotten major funding for a project, is there a way you can tie your work into that? By piggybacking your efforts onto something that is already well-positioned, you increase your chances of being heard.Some other ways to get yourself on the radar with others: Schedule face time. The boss may be busy, but tell his or her executive assistant you need some one-on-one time with the boss and ask to be put on the bosss schedule. It helps enormously if youre polite, friendly and professional with the assistant so that you ca n get a time slot when the boss wont be rushed or stressed. Always try to avoid Monday mornings or Friday afternoons, when the boss may be the most distracted. Being at the right place at the right time. If an important client or potential customer attends a certain gym, arrange to run into them. Oh, Im glad I ran into you. Ive been meaning to give you an update of my project. Im starting to wind it up, so can I call you this week? This make it sounds like youre doing a nice thing, and doesnt sound needy or pushy. Avoiding interruptions. While some people like to schedule breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings, the atmosphere makes it difficult for someone to concentrate on what youre saying. The serving of the meal, the chatter of nearby customers and other interruptions make it tough to keep the focus on your message. Its better to try and have a meeting set for a private location where you wont have distractions. Being prepared. Whether youre speaking to two peo ple or 200, if you want people to listen to you, you must do your homework. Be armed with interesting facts and work on using inflection in your voice as well as some hand gestures. Maintain eye contact. Watch how key players seem to gain the attention of others, and learn from it. Listen. The key to communicating well with others is learning to listen so that you can respond appropriately to questions and react to changes in the conversation. People will listen to you when they know you are listening to them. del.icio.us