Rashi
My Product JournalAbout
Back to Journal

⚡ Communication with Stakeholders - 10 things to remember

Here are some points which can make dealing with a difficult stakeholder communication a little bit easier, these points have generally helped me stay on track and lead the communication with greater empathy towards my stakeholders.

  1. Communication works best where opinions are not brutally honest but delicately honest
  2. Understand that there is a “my point of view” and “someone else’s point of view” - rarely there is an absolute truth. Recognise that we can see things only from our perspective, this help share the views in a non-threatening way
  3. Statements of opinion are always more constructive in the first person “I” form. eg:
    1. “You never take my suggestions seriously” - This triggers disagreement
    2. “I feel frustrated that you have not responded to my last four emails, which leads me to believe that my suggestions are not that important to you. Is that so?” - This triggers discussion
  4. Acknowledge the speakers feelings - to be a better listener
  5. Feedback is an opinion - grounded in observations and experiences - allows us to know what impressions we make on others, so always seek for feedback after the stakeholder calls
  6. In case you find yourself in an unpleasant discussions, Ask below questions to self-reflect:
    1. How can I do better?
    2. What am I doing that I don’t know but is impacting the person I am interacting with?
    3. What am I not doing that I don’t see but is impacting the person I am interacting with?
  7. Always start with “What can I do to help them achieve their goals” instead of an “instruction”
  8. Miscommunication is a two way street, so try your best to identify the gaps & leverage the shared goals to find a common ground
  9. Over-communication is truly the best tool for Product Managers, so use it well and remember
  10. Communication is a major role played by the product managers, so you can’t expect everyone else to be good at it. So a good way to understand can be by asking very simple couple of questions:
    1. What are your goals?
    2. What are you optimising for?