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Working at a company with colleagues and managers can have a lot of disagreements and rejection of certain ideas and opinions. Many ideas were rejected during meetings and their owners didn’t have the chance to defend them or to prove their idea can have positive results.
This is why today, we are providing you with 5 steps to follow to productivity debate your ideas at work.
Your Manager/Colleagues Are Not Your Opponents
Remember, you’re all on the same team and share one goal.
This is how you start the discussion, by reminding everyone that you’re all one team and want the same thing for the company. Don’t start the debate being too defensive, make your colleague feel that they can share their opinions and ideas or ask you questions. Remember, your goal is not to look better or smarter than your colleagues, your goal is to persuade them with your idea or to come up with a better version of it.
Remind them that you all have to collaborate for the company’s sake, nothing else.
State Facts
When you’re debating, be ready with facts and research to support your idea/opinion.
Before going to the meeting, you have to do research and prepare statistics built on insights and data to support your idea; you have to have evidence to back up what you’re proposing. This is why you have to always be prepared and work hard to give them the best presentation.
Presenting facts, statistics, insights, and so on can spare you so many questions your colleagues and manager might ask.
Don’t Let It Get Personal
You will hear your colleagues opposing your idea, don’t let this trigger you.
Don’t show up with an attitude and don’t show it when someone opposes your idea/opinion, it’s called a debate for a reason. There’s no room for attacking each other, keep your personal emotions out of the debate, this should go completely professional and healthy.
Having unprofessional behavior will lead to extremely negative results and will drift the debate away from its main goal.
Ask And Answer Questions
Don’t be afraid to ask the opposing team questions and make sure you answer theirs clearly.
Give your colleagues and managers the time to ask you questions related to your idea/opinion and be ready to answer, you have to encourage an open discussion culture. Everyone has to have a say in this matter and you have to listen to them if you want a fair debate and if you want to persuade them with your point of view.
Both parties have to ask and answer questions to get the full image with its details.
Don’t Be Too Biased
Some people refuse to admit they’re wrong or even find common ground, don’t do that, consider other opinions.
Don’t be biased in your ideas, some of your colleagues might have other ideas to enhance yours to have a better version that could benefit everyone else.
Be open to new ideas and opinions and admit if you’re wrong, this is the point of debating, coming out with the best result for the company’s sake, as the success will benefit you all.
Remember, this is not a fight or a competition, it’s a debate where you should have positive results and solutions by the end of it.
