November 6, 2006 - Being Heard and Not Ignored Part 1

I spent most of Saturday on a soccer field either watching my daughters play or refereeing. It made me think of the similarities between a referee and a project manager. The referee has 17 rules to remember and enforce. They give him a whistle and everyone has to listen to him. His word is law. If anyone takes a swing at him or even talks harshly to him he can pull out a red card and send them packing.

For the project manager the rules are constantly changing. They give him a budget to balance and nobody listens to him. His word is ignored. Anyone can take a swing at him and he can be sent packing at any time. Oh, and no whistle. Okay, so there aren’t many similarities between the two.

This week I want to take a look at how to be heard and not ignored with or without a whistle.

There was a specific meeting at which I first realized people were listening to me and actually taking me seriously. I don’t recall the exact topic but I remember looking around while I was speaking. I thought, “Wow! They are paying attention to what I’m saying. Oh, crap, what am I saying?”

Have something to say. The first step is to have something to worth listening to. Any fool can blab on for hours about nothing. In that meeting I could have been shouting nursery rhymes and no one would have listened.