Re: I'm your software developer, and I'm listening - PS

Following on from this morning's post:

PS When you're writing down what your clients tell you, be very careful to write down exactly what they tell you. Lots of books on communication tell you to re-phrase what people tell you to show that you've understood, but this can so easily turn into defensiveness and make the client think that you aren't actually listening.

For example:
CLIENT: This project has been a complete disaster!
YOU: I understand that there have been a few problems.

Translates to the client as "I don't think this project has been a disaster, I think you're over reacting."

Much better (though requiring much more self control) might be:

CLIENT: This project has been a complete disaster!
YOU: OK, let me write that down. "Complete disaster." Which bits in particular do you think were disastrous?

As an old colleague of mine (who I never listened to) used to tell me,

"Make sure you've got all the poison out before you try to heal the wound."

For further information, contact Mark@agilelab.co.uk (07736 807 604)