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?

3 comments

3 Comments

jesseh171mo 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.

jordan6941mo ago

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

dixon.spencer1mo 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.