How to Explain Your Recommendation So That People Take It

So there my colleague and I were, listening to the needs of a client. Like doctors, we internally formulated our diagnosis as we learned about our patient’s symptoms and situation. The more we heard, the surer we were of what the patient needed. In fact, we were certain that we could help. And not only would that help the client, it would mean we’d generate more revenue for our team.

Cue an immediate blend of excitement, passion, and nervous energy inside us.

The client stopped talking and gave us our opening. Go time.

What we’d strongly recommend you consider doing is [2 minutes of explanation]. That would involve [3 minutes of explanation]. And the way that works is [5 minutes of explanation]. And we’ve also found it’s important to [2 minutes of explanation]. In fact, the details behind that are quite interesting [2 final minutes of explanation].

We were pretty fired up about our recommendation. It was the perfect solution.

But it never went anywhere. The client never bought it.

In my last article, I talked about getting people interested in change. Most people most of the time are indifferent or resistant to change. The status quo is known and therefore safer and less costly. You usually need to get them to talk through their symptoms and situation for them to get interested — to see that what you’re proposing is really good for them.

If you do succeed in getting them interested, you’ll next need to lay out the case for making the change. You’ll have to explain the idea, what it will mean to them, and how they can be assured it’s a good idea. In short, you’ll have to generate belief in what you’re recommending. But how do you do it without losing their interest!?

The Two Essentials to Making a Compelling Recommendation

1. Be quick. Imagine how conditioned basketball players are to make a play quickly. An ever-present digital “shot clock” reminds them how much time they have to take a shot or turnover the ball to the other team. They engineer each play to unfold quickly and they likely could tell you how much elapsed time remains on the clock without looking at it.
   Now imagine yourself adopting an internal shot clock. Consider disciplining yourself to stop talking to allow the other person to respond every 90 seconds or so. While this might require you to formulate a more thoughtful explanation and release some control, it could lead to much higher engagement and understanding. If you don’t engage and gain understanding, your idea won’t go anywhere. Wish we had a shot clock with that client I mentioned earlier.
2. Be relevant. Do you remember how Cinderella’s slipper only fit on her foot? Imagine if your suggestions focused less on the idea itself and more on why it matters to that particular person or group.
   You know this. People are typically much less interested in your explanation than they are in themselves and their circumstances. Discipline yourself to keep starting sentences like this: This is matters to you in particular because… or You’ve mentioned before that it’s important to you to….
   It’s much more important to be relevant than to be knowledgeable. People don’t choose subject matter experts on expertise alone. They choose the ones who speak to their situation.

You see, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a great doctor if no one takes your recommendations. To make a compelling recommendation that people will take, remember the third step in the psychology of relationship-based influence: belief. It follows attention and interest. Where do you need to get better at making a compelling case?

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