The smooth talker doesn’t make up implausible excuses, like my dog ate my home work or the WiFi went down , they admit their mistakes, apologise and use humour and flattery to get them selves out of trouble.
You have made a big mistake, missed an important deadline, failed to deliver an important message, tuned up late for an important meeting, said something inappropriate in the heat of the moment, done something you shouldn’t have, your annual appraisal is due. How can you persuade your boss to over look these resent slips?
Your boss wants to keep their boss happy by having a representative at a regular partnership forum you drew the short straw. Your boss plans to nominate you to join yet another corporate working group, is minded to send you on a residential course, spend a day showing a local big wig around. How do you talk your way out of it?
If you have made a mistake own up to your boss before someone else tells them. Offer a sincere apology and if a third party is involved state your intension to mend bridges. Assure your boss this will not happen again. Avoid making excuses for your behaviour or blaming someone else even if you have a reasonable explanation and someone else was to blame. Let your boss tease this out of you reluctantly. Reiterate your loyalty your boss/ team /cause.
Sometimes the issue is not that you have done something wrong but that your boss wants you to do something you don’t want to do. I don’t mean you are being asked to do something unethical or against procedures but something you don’t want to do because you think it is a waste of your time. Who wants to spend the day showing a local dignitary around the organisation. Not your boss that’s why they are trying to get you to do it! How many corporate working groups can one person be a member of? As for the residential course well it’s not really relived to my work and I defiantly don’t fancy being away from home. Of course it would be a mistake to refuse to do any of these things because this would be a challenge to your bosses authority and will only be bad for you. Others should be given the chance of joining a corporate working group because it is such good experience. The residential course sounds very interesting but it would cause some problems with my child care commitments. Is there any chance they may run a nine to five version in the future? What day are you looking for someone to show this person around? That would be a problem for me because of dairy commitments, if you had been able to give me more notice I am sure I could have helped. However I can certainly arrange some interesting locations to visit were the manager would be happy to show them around and explain what we do.
If all else fails you could lie. I was once asked to represent the organisation with the chair in receiving Easter Eggs for local children provided by bikers groups. The eggs were delivered in a very impressive convoy of over a hundred motor bikes revving their way through the centre of town. It was on Easter Sunday, not a work day but I agreed so my boss could spend time with his family on the holiday. The following year at the last minute my boss asked me again to deputise for him. I felt I was being taken advantage off so I said I was really sorry but I was visiting relatives up north over the bank holiday and couldn’t change arrangement at this late date. It wasn’t true.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
