Explaining to a client their idea is bad

- Hi there, I'm your English coach Christina,

and welcome to Speak English with Christina,

where you'll learn American culture and business know-how

to become confident in English.

In our professional life, we know it's important to speak

our mind, so that our clients get the results they want.

After all, your clients value your expertise,

and they pay you for your opinion, right?

But, what happens when your client has an idea

that's quite, well, terrible?

Do you give the client your honest opinion?

On the one hand you wanna be a team player,

but on the other hand you understand that your client

pays you for your professional insight and experience.

They deserve to hear the truth.

In this episode we'll explore ways that you can let

your client know in a diplomatic way, that something

is a bad idea or won't work.

This way you can keep your job, keep your clients,

and not hurt anyone's feelings; let's go.

(upbeat rock music)

One of the most effective techniques

in diplomatic communication can be to use humor

and informal language.

Sometimes when you're trying to get a point across

to explain something, it may come off as condescending

or snobbish if you sound very, very formal.

Informal language, even sometimes a little slang,

can ease the tension of challenging conversations.

Telling your client that their idea is bad

is just one example of how a deep understanding

of real American English can help.

In my Master Real American English program

students unlock the keys of how to speak spontaneously

in English and use English appropriately

to improve their business relationships.

This three month course is personally tailored

to your skill level and is a terrific way to build

your confidence, boost your communication skills,

and help you use more correct English so that

your conversations are more relaxed, more authentic,

and you feel better.

For more information about this program,

go ahead and click on the link below in the show notes.

(upbeat jazz music)

You want your client to be happy,

and you know that they're paying good money

to get results, so let's say that you manage

the marketing efforts for a luxury shoe company.

Your client tells you that they have a great new logo

and a name for their brand, and this is the idea.

(comical trumpet music)

And your gut tells you that this is probably not

the right approach to marketing luxury footwear

to sophisticated women, how do you respond?

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First of all, never say "you're wrong",

or "that's a bad idea".

If you start with the negatives, or if you tell

your client that they're wrong, they don't like

that message, it creates a negative emotion,

negative energy that they associate with you.

And they will just cover their ears,

maybe not literally, and just be like,

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

they don't want to listen to that message.

In other words, they won't also listen to what you say next.

So, first try to find something that you like

about the idea; are there any strong points?

Maybe they had a great attitude?

But identify the positives in order to give them

that first positive emotion.

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Is there anything about their idea that you like?

If so you can let your client know.

For example, you could say, "for the choice of colors,

fluorescent pink is definitely eye-catching."

Or, "it's great that you have so many ambitions

for this project".

Or, "about your suggestion to use cat videos

"for the marketing promotion, well it's true

that everyone does love cat videos".

Or, well, maybe there isn't

anything positive about your client's idea.

And if that's the case, well, start off by expressing

how much you appreciate their suggestion.

For example, "well, I appreciate that you are so proactive,

and you took the initiative to design that."

Or, "you know, you did a great job

putting this together."

Or, "you know, I'm glad that we can really work

"as a team to find solutions, I've got some great ideas

to build on what you've already got."

These phrases can make your client feel good

about their contributions, and about

your working relationship.

And by starting with a positive phrase you can soften

the blow when you express your professional opinion

about why their idea is bad.

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The phrase "I think" is not very effective

when diplomatically telling your client

that their idea isn't very good.

Remember, your client hired you for your professional

experience, your expertise.

This is the perfect opportunity to share with your client

the reasons why their idea may not achieve

the desired results, and show them

that you are the expert.

For example, this is a magical phrase, "in my experience."

"In my experience, the luxury footwear audience

"appreciates refined craftsmanship.

"Another client launched their luxury handbag brand

"using a similar cat video approach, and they did not

"achieve those results that they wanted.

People thought it was cheap."

And this is a great opportunity to mention any high profile

clients that you've worked with in the past,

it adds credibility.

Name dropping, this reminds your client that

your credibility and your expertise were good enough

for someone who is top of the line,

and they'll remember that's why they hired you.

For example, "in my experience working with Ralph Lauren,"

then they're like, wow, that person is good enough

for Ralph Lauren, I'm really gonna listen to them.

(upbeat jazz music)

Another way to politely tell a client

that their idea isn't very good is to use industry data.

This phrase is very good,

"the current best practice is."

Again, this shows that you are up to date

on what is happening in your field of expertise.

For example, "the current best practice is to convey

"a sense of timelessness and refined style

"in luxury footwear.

"Just take a look at the latest industry data

"that demonstrates how a different approach

may help us target more customers."

Do you see how these two phrases, "in my experience"

and "the current best practice," can help you

to diplomatically explain why an idea isn't very good?

You aren't telling your client that you disagree,

or you personally just don't like their idea,

you're telling them why they might not

achieve their goals with their idea based on

your professional experience, and your knowledge

of data, industry data, sorry, and trends.

(upbeat jazz music)

And if your client insists on moving forward

with their idea and you strongly disagree,

you always have a choice.

You can continue with their idea and test their results,

and perhaps with more data then you can persuade

your client that another idea may work better.

And of course, it's possible that their terrible idea

will be successful.

You have to test it.

Or, you can politely terminate the relationship.

And this is best done in writing to formalize the agreement.

But of course, it's also fair to give your client

a warning in person.

For example, "I wanna be honest with you,

"after considering all of the aspects of this project,

"I feel like our company is not the best

"to serve your needs, but I would be happy

to refer you to someone better suited for you."

And if your client is professional and you did enjoy

working with them, then you can recommend another expert,

or another company that your client may consider hiring.

Doing so is both considerate and good business practice.

And in the end, this allows you to focus your energy

on the clients that you actually work well with.

(upbeat jazz music)

Now, what about you?

Have you ever been in a situation where you told

a client that their idea wasn't very good?

If so, share it in the comments, and tell us

what words or phrases did you use to diplomatically

explain why the idea was bad.

And what was the result?

I would love to hear your story.

And if you're a busy professional who needs to level up

your fluency, but you find it difficult

to do it alone, let me help you

with Master Real American English.

It's my three month coaching program

in which my team and I empower you to express yourself

fluently and naturally so that people focus

on your professional skills and your expertise

not on your level of English.

And for more information click on the link below

where you can apply to join this program today.

Thank you so much for learning

with Speak English with Christina,

and I'll see you next time.