Why Say Sorry When You Can Say Thank You

In this article we are sharing some very effective tips that will help you manage your stakeholders.

Treat Everyone like a Customer

Treat all of your stakeholders "equally" as if they are your customers.  It doesn't matter whether the stakeholder is your boss or your subordinate, it doesn't matter whether the stakeholder is your peer or your end customer. Treat them with an attitude of gratitude. Here are few simple things that can have a huge positive impact on the way you manage your stakeholders:

1. Don't leave any opportunity to appreciate the good work done by any of the stakeholders and be lavish in your praise.
2. Small things make a BIG difference. Treat the office boys and the security guards with respect.
3. If you are a manager or a senior manager then don't lock yourself in your cabin or cubical. Make sure you greet and talk to the all the employees and especially your team members on a regular basis. Try to remember their name, it makes a huge difference.
4. Learn to add value by sharing your experience. You never know who may get inspired by listening to your story.
5. Find out: How can you make your stakeholders feel better?What does this mean? It means that you give them 5 star treatment each and every time you deal with them.

Use The Feel, Felt, Found Strategy

This is a very old proven strategy widely used by sales personnel. We can use it too while dealing with our stakeholders in day to day interactions. It has three simple steps:
(1) Feel: Here you make the other person believe that you understand his situation "I understand where you are coming from, I can feel it".
(2) Felt: This is where you give him/ her some example from the past, for example: "Yes, I know Mr. X who had been through similar rough experience or Yes, one of my customer felt the same way that you do". By doing this you make the person believe that similar situation had occurred in the past and it can change for better.
(3) Found: "However, later they found that by doing X they can get Y", here X is something you want the stakeholder to do and Y is the positive result they are looking for.

Practice the use of 'Excuse Me' or 'Pardon'

Review your own speech pattern, see if you use the word 'Sorry' too often, try to replace it with 'Excuse Me' or 'Pardon'. This helps you get out of the apologetic mindset. Reserve your 'Sorry' for occasions when you need to offer condolences or when you have genuinely hurt someone's feelings.

Don't Say Sorry When You Can Say Thank You

Develop a habit to express gratitude. This will have immense impact on creating a very positive rapport with all the people you deal with. Here is a fantastico example: 

The way we speak has a pattern, it is mostly driven by our conditioning, the environment or the surroundings in which we have been raised. Most times we don't give much importance to these small things, but in the long run these small things shape up our personality. If we monitor our behavioral pattern and make small changes to our vocabulary/ speech pattern then it can result in great improvements.

You may also like to read: 23 Email Etiquette Rules Every Professional Should Know

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.