How to Present Solutions Without Breaking Trust

You know that sinking feeling… Someone interrupts your carefully prepared presentation with “But what about...?” and raises a point you never considered. Everyone is looking at you, and you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. In that moment, the idea or solution you’ve been presenting weighs in the balance. Address the resistance well, and your idea will likely be adopted with even more optimism than before. Address it poorly, and your idea is as good as gone. Here’s a quick overview of my “RAP” formula that you can use in these moments to turn blindside objections into “aha” moments. 1. R: Recognize the type of resistance you’re facing: - Logical resistance (conflicting data or reasoning) - Emotional resistance (values or identity challenges) - Practical resistance (implementation concerns) 2. A: Address it proactively in your presentation: - For logical resistance: Acknowledge competing viewpoints before they’re raised. "Some might point to last quarter’s numbers as evidence against this approach. Here’s why that perspective is incomplete..." - For emotional resistance: Connect your idea to their existing values. "This initiative actually strengthens our commitment to customer-first thinking by..." - For practical resistance: Demonstrate you’ve considered the real-world constraints. "I know this requires significant change. Here’s our phased implementation plan that accounts for..." 3. P: Provide a path forward that transforms resistance into alignment: - Give them space to voice concerns (but in a structured way) - Incorporate their perspective into the solution - Show how addressing their resistance actually strengthens the outcome The most powerful thing you can say in a presentation isn’t "trust me", it’s "I understand your concerns." When you genuinely see resistance as valuable feedback rather than an obstacle, you’ll find your ideas gaining traction where they previously stalled. #CommunicationSkills #BusinessCommunication #PresentationSkills

Your team just told you they're burned out. What you say in the next 30 seconds will either build trust or destroy it forever. Most leaders think trust is built through big gestures and annual reviews. But after coaching hundreds of executives, I've learned the truth: trust lives in those split-second moments when someone brings you a problem. Here's what happens when your team raises concerns: What breaks trust: ❌ Dismissing their reality → "Everyone's busy right now" → Translation: Your wellbeing doesn't matter ❌ Making it about you → "I worked 80 hours last week too" → Translation: Your struggle isn't valid ❌ Using guilt as motivation → "We need team players here" → Translation: Speaking up makes you disloyal Instead of defaulting to defensiveness, here’s how we guide leaders to respond—using the CHANGES framework from Conversational Intelligence®: 🤝 C - Co-Creating (Shift from Excluding to Including) → "Thank you for trusting me with this - let's solve it together" → Makes them part of the solution, not the problem 🤝 H - Humanizing (Shift from Judging to Appreciating) → "Your honesty takes courage and helps our whole team" → Demonstrate respect for their contribution 🤝 A - Aspiring (Shift from Limiting to Expanding Aspirations) → "This feedback helps us create the culture we want" → Connect their concern to bigger organizational goals 🤝 N - Navigating (Shift from Withholding to Sharing) → "Let me share what I'm seeing and hear your perspective" → Create transparency around challenges and solutions 🤝 G - Generativity (Shift from Knowing to Discovering) → "What ideas do you have that we haven't tried yet?" → Reward their insights and encourage innovation 🤝 E - Expressing (Shift from Dictating to Developing) → "How can we empower you to make decisions about your workload?" → Inspire them to own solutions 🤝 S - Synchronizing (Shift from Criticizing to Celebrating) → "Here's what we're changing because you spoke up" → Celebrate their courage and close the feedback loop The hidden cost of getting this wrong: – Your best people stop bringing you problems – Issues explode instead of getting solved early – Innovation dies because psychological safety doesn't exist The payoff of getting this right: – Teams that come to you first when things go wrong, not last. – Projects move faster because the sticky points come up early. – Conflict fades as respect and tolerance goes up. Your next conversation is your next opportunity to choose trust over control. Start with one letter that comes most easily and work your way through CHANGES… one each day. P.S. Which CHANGES element do you need most right now? 🔔 Follow me, Jill Avey, for more leadership insights that move careers forward ♻️ Share to help leaders build stronger teams

Want to boost your influence as an HR leader? Then you must start to... Make your thinking visible. Sounds simple, right? But here's what changes everything: When you explicitly share your thought process, you're not just presenting solutions – you're inviting others into your problem-solving journey. I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I walked into a meeting with my new boss with what I thought was the perfect talent strategy. Spent weeks on it. Had all the answers. My manager stopped me three slides in: "JP, I don't need your conclusion. I need to understand how you got there." That feedback stung. But it changed how I show up. Making your thinking visible builds trust, invites co-creation, and demonstrates how you think differently. Here's what it looks like in practice: 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳: "Here's what we should do..." 𝗧𝗿𝘆: "I've been analyzing this challenge, and I see two paths forward. Let me walk you through my thinking..." Three phrases that transformed my influence: • "Let me share how I arrived at this recommendation..."    • "Before we dive into solutions, I'd like to share my understanding of the problem and see if it aligns with yours..."    • "I'd love to pressure-test this thinking with you..." The result? Your stakeholders feel included, your ideas gain traction faster, and your influence grows. Because when people understand your thinking, they don't just buy your solution. They buy into your approach. Your turn: What's your go-to method for bringing stakeholders along on your ideas? P.S. The best HR leaders I know aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who show their work. Transparency isn't vulnerability, it's strategy.

4 Ways You Can Shift From Pitching Products to Offering Real Solutions Tired of feeling like a walking product catalog? Here’s why leaning into solutions, not just “stuff,” helps you connect on a deeper level Making this switch takes genuine understanding. I’ve worked with countless coaches who realized that focusing on solutions transforms sales conversations. → It’s about seeing their larger challenges. → It nurtures trust, not transactional vibes. I’ll show you how to give clients what they truly need, not just what’s on the shelf. Here’s what I do: 1] Start With Their Reality ↳ Learn their story—go beyond basic features. ↳ Understand what they’re facing before offering anything. 2] Prioritize Outcomes Over Specs ↳ Don’t list bullet points of features; highlight the problem you solve. ↳ Talk about life after the solution, not just the “thing” you provide. 3] Frame Your Offer as a Path ↳ Show them a clear journey from where they are to where they want to be. ↳ Make it easy to see how your approach improves their situation. 4] Guide With a Human-Centered Framework ↳ Begin by asking smart, empathetic questions. ↳ Lead them toward a tailored answer that clicks with their goals. If it were just about products, anyone could do it. But offering real solutions sets you apart—one conversation at a time. Sign up for the Be Like Butter 5 Day Challenge https://lnkd.in/gpBs8SRn