While Youre Waiting

Home
>
Negotiation
>
While Youre Waiting

While Youre Waiting

Not long ago, I made a partnership pitch, on behalf of an organization I represent, to another organization with similar interests. If the idea had come to fruition, it would have radically changed our organization.

So, you can imagine my impatience when I didn't hear back from the person to whom I'd made the proposal. She had welcomed the idea, but told me the decision would be made by a council within her organization.

Given the dynamics of an important decision about the future of their organization, I didn't expect a quick response. But, I would have liked at least an update advising me on the status of their considerations.

Then, I had a "Eureka," or maybe I should call it a "Whoops," moment. I realized I hadn't reported back to the people in my organization either. That made me guilty of the same lapse of communication as the lady in the other organization. With that recognition, I made amends by sending out an email to my organization, and followed up with a report at a meeting.

In taking an analytical view of this incident, I realized that nothing can be something when it comes to communication.

The idea that nothing can be something seems counter-intuitive. But remember the famous Sherlock Holmes observation about the dog that didn't bark; the fictitious detective solved a baffling case by noting what did not happen, rather than what did happen.

You can probably come up with several ideas about the importance of communicating even though nothing has changed. That's especially true if you're the one who didn't hear from someone else.

First, you may have made plans that assume either a change in or a continuation of the status quo. Perhaps you're holding off on holiday plans until the issue is resolved one way or the other.

Second, at least you know that an anticipated decision or event hasn't yet occurred, and that you didn't miss something (for example, as I write this I'm waiting for a client to confirm some information and it would be nice to know that I haven't missed a callback or an emailed reply).

Third, if you've received an update telling you nothing has happened, you don't need to contact that person and ask if there have been any developments. Similarly, you can advise the people who look to you for information.

One other note about the 'nothing can be something' idea: It's a variation on what I've called the Everybody Knows syndrome. That refers to a failure to communicate, based on the assumption that others know what I know.

In summary, it's a good idea to report regularly, even if nothing has happened, since others may not know you're still waiting as well.

About The Author

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. If you subscribe, you will receive, at no charge, communication tips that help you lead or manage more effectively. You can get more information here: http://www.CommunicationNewsletter.com

abbottr@managersguide.com

In The News:

The Majalla Magazine
Negotiating with Iran: A better way forward
UPI.com
Negotiation will be deemed a long process. Optimistic claims of progress resulting from trivial concessions will be framed as political victories. And, not surprisingly, Iranian officials will herald the talks as fruitful and call for continued ...
Iranian nuclear negotiations: A little ray of sunshine?The Majalla Magazine
Iran-West Nuclear Negotiations Will Continue in JuneFiredoglake
Inspection at Iran nuclear facility finds higher-level traces of uranium, UN saysCNN
Washington Post -Minneapolis Star Tribune -Huffington Post
all 3,504 news articles »

Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations
Christian Science Monitor
After weeks of fighting, in which South Sudan took out one of Sudan's last remaining oil fields, the two countries are returning to the negotiation table, under African Union mediation. By Scott Baldauf, Staff writer / May 25, 2012 After a series of ...

and more »

Negotiation is not a solution in itself
Montreal Gazette
“Negotiation” – almost everybody in Quebec still seems to believe in its magical powers to solve the current protest crisis, even after it's already failed once. Three-quarters of Quebecers in a recent poll by Léger Marketing for Québecor-owned media ...

and more »

IBNLive.com
International climate negotiations: Moving parts and much-more slowly moving ...
Energy Collective
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Bonn, Germany, May 14-25 and negotiated reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases along three separate tracks. First, the Kyoto Protocol: Delegates to the 17 th ...
Deadlock breaks at UN climate talks, agenda agreedCreamer Media's Engineering News
U.N. climate talks stall over rich-poor divisionsSan Francisco Chronicle

all 478 news articles »

How coaching baseball helps negotiating deals
Bizjournals.com
As it turns out, coaching has helped me in my real job, namely, negotiating agreements on behalf of commercial real estate and corporate clients. • The Similarities Between Creating a Lineup and a Commercial Lease. Several days before a game, ...

Austin American-Statesman
City approves negotiations to buy Joe's Crab Shack land
Austin American-Statesman
By Shonda Novak The Austin City Council on Thursday gave the go-ahead for city real estate officials to negotiate a contract to buy the 1.8-acre site that is home to the Joe's Crab Shack restaurant on East Riverside Drive. The City Council approved the ...

and more »

GAUVIN: Negotiating with taxpayers in mind has not been council's strong point
Barnstable Patriot
The word “negotiate” appears several times in the story. The young man, let's call him John Smith, then glances wistfully through the expansive window to the commuter traffic slowly passing by outside with its assortment of various car models driven by ...

and more »

KOIN Local 6
Reynolds negotiations end in stalemate, uncertainty
KOIN Local 6
By Rob Cullivan Reynolds School District contract negotiations have again concluded without an agreement, and it's likely both sides won't meet again until Tuesday, May 29, at the earliest, district officials said. Meanwhile, school has been cancelled ...

and more »

Teaneck teacher contract negotiations move to fact-finding stage
NorthJersey.com
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE TEANECK — Negotiations between the school board and the teachers' union will move from mediation to fact-finding after discussions reached an impasse on Wednesday night, a union official said Thursday.

China.org.cn
Negotiations for Rio+20 'painfully slow'
China.org.cn
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Thursday expressed frustration at the slow pace of negotiations over a draft outcome document for the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), urging member states to look at the "bigger picture" ...

and more »

Google News