Episode: 298

Episode Title: To Negotiate, Tell a Story

One of the best ways to negotiate is to tell a compelling story. Here’s how to use this strategy to make the case for working from home, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 298 show:

Welcome—you are now in The Perna Syndicate! As the American workforce starts to come back to the office, some employees are thrilled—while others are less so. Remote work offers so many advantages for a healthy work-life blend, that many people just don’t want to give it up. And who can blame them? 

That’s why we’re talking this week about how to negotiate with your boss about continuing to work from home. To prepare for this conversation, career coach Alexa Fischer suggests reflecting on your work-from-home experience to highlight the wins you achieved, right out of your home office. Ask yourself:

• Did you meet or exceed your goals? 
• Did you find that you were more productive?
• Did you improve in any skill areas? 
• Did you have more free time for exercise, which can improve your mental health? 
• What has been the benefit for you which in turn proved to be a benefit for the company?

Once you’ve outlined these big wins, consider sharing them as you would share a story. Narrative storytelling is an engaging way to win someone’s attention and help them see your perspective. Talk about the journey you’ve taken to create these successes and how you want to take them further by continuing to work remotely, at least part of the time. 

People remember stories more than they remember statistics and bulleted points. Outline the points you want to make, but share them as a story. And hopefully, yours will have a happy ending!

On tomorrow’s episode, we’ll share one simple strategy to prevent the conversation from turning into a debate. See you back here tomorrow on The Perna Syndicate!