One of the biggest challenges to securing the outcomes you may seek is a failure to sell yourself or your ideas effectively.
And the success of doing so depends greatly on the framing of what you say - see our post entitled "Extend your Vocabulary to Stressbust™".
By way of illustration, if you asked someone whether they want to buy a pen, they would have 2 simple closed answers - "yes" or "no" - that require little if any substantive consideration. A bit like asking someone if they want to go to the cinema, they will instinctively give one answer and rarely will be moved from it.
If, on the other hand, you asked a person whether they want to buy "this pen or that pen", then there are 2 options presented to them, which switches their mindset from one of "final decision" (which may go definitively against you) into one of "preference".
Choice is something everyone likes to feel they own and providing it not only creates a less pressurised environment, but makes the other person feel more involved in, as well as in control of, decision making - not an unreasonable expectation, given they are being asked to part with their precious time and energy - see our post entitled "ENERGY: The Most Precious Stressbusting™ Commodity in Life".
To continue the simple cinema analogy above, if the question is phrased in terms of "would you like to go to the cinema tonight or instead grab an afternoon matinee then bite to eat", you have doubled your chances of your offer being taken up or discussions ensuing from the open framing of the question that result in a compromise.
By providing even limited or minor options or variations to a main theme, that can cost you very little, it demonstrates sensitivity to the other person's needs while acknowledging them as individuals and appreciating that one size does not fit all.
Whereas a suggestion is confined to a take it or leave it offering that can only be embraced on a "yes" or "no" basis, can stall a dialogue process before it even starts!
When recommending a course of action, whether at work or home, therefore, you should avoid the self perception that that just because you want to do something or do something a particular way, other people will too - as this is rarely, if ever, the case, and a satisfactory compromise that suits all could be missed in the process.
And, of course it goes without saying, the more interesting or unique you make your suggestions, the more likely you are to be taken up on them - see our post entitled "Keep an eye out for nearby Stressbusting™ Activities", for example.
!-Happy Friday-!
LouLoU™&MikeyM™ 😊😍😎🧡💛💕 xxxx