My accidental honesty policy with a client actually worked

I was so tired during a call I just bluntly told a client their idea was a mess and explained why it would fail. They paused, then said 'okay, tell me how to fix it,' and we rebuilt it from scratch, which led to a better project. Have you ever solved a work problem by just dropping the polite act for a second?

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3 Comments

jesseh177mo ago

Been there too. Clients often VALUE the straight talk once they see you're trying to HELP, not just criticize. It cuts through the nonsense and gets to a REAL solution faster. Just make sure your tone is about fixing the problem, not attacking the person. That shift in focus is EVERYTHING.

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jordan6947mo ago

What happens when they still take it personal even with the right tone though lol

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dixon.spencer7mo ago

Disagree here. Some people just can't hear feedback, period. Watched it happen at my last job where the nicest tone still got taken as a personal attack. At a certain point it's their problem, not your delivery.

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