Ten actions for each capability. Pick one or two, not all forty. Tap a capability to focus on it, or search for a situation.
Know your audience Understand what they’re deciding, what it costs them, and what they already understand. 0 of 10 tried Emotional intelligence Manage the signal you send and read the one you’re getting, especially when it stings. 0 of 10 tried Decision discernment Spot shaky evidence, hidden assumptions, bias, false choices, and missing alternatives. 0 of 10 tried Decision influence Turn sound analysis into a clear, credible recommendation someone can act on. 0 of 10 tried
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1 Name the real question A brilliant answer to the wrong question still loses. Know your audience 2 Map the stakes People weigh what yes will cost them, not just what your idea is worth. Know your audience 3 Speak in their currency Your case has to land in their terms, not yours. Know your audience 4 Find the comparison that travels What you set an idea beside decides whether it’s remembered. Know your audience 5 Answer the question above them Decision-makers need an answer they can defend. Know your audience 6 Show enough of the iceberg More detail doesn’t always build more trust. Know your audience 7 Choose the right channel The same argument lands differently in an email, a deck, and a hallway. Know your audience 8 Agree on the problem first A solution sounds like a cost until people see the problem. Know your audience 9 Learn how they decide Some people decide with data, some with stories, some with allies. Know your audience 10 Ask before you pitch The best audience research is a good question. Know your audience 11 Name the charge People read your signal before they hear your substance. Emotional intelligence 12 Audit your expert tells Expertise can leak out as impatience or certainty. Emotional intelligence 13 Take the two-beat reset The moment after it stings decides what happens next. Emotional intelligence 14 Build, don’t accuse When your idea resurfaces through someone else, build on it. Emotional intelligence 15 Listen for the objection beneath the objection The stated reason often isn’t the real one. Emotional intelligence 16 Say the care part first People can only hear a challenge once they know you’re on their side. Emotional intelligence 17 Read the room before you speak The same point lands differently in a tired room and a fresh one. Emotional intelligence 18 Lower the cost of changing course People defend positions they’ve taken in public. Emotional intelligence 19 Stay curious when challenged Defensiveness reads as weakness. Curiosity reads as confidence. Emotional intelligence 20 Repair quickly A sharp moment left alone turns into a reputation. Emotional intelligence 21 Sort the claims Facts, forecasts, and assumptions often wear the same confident tone. Decision discernment 22 Run the warrant check The weak spot is usually in the link, not the evidence. Decision discernment 23 Ask “compared to what?” A number means little until you know what it’s compared to. Decision discernment 24 Check the track record Plans are optimistic. History is less so. Decision discernment 25 Be suspicious of precision The more precise a number looks, the more it deserves a second look. Decision discernment 26 Test the arguments you like hardest The claims you want to be true get the lightest check. Decision discernment 27 Look for the missing option Either/or choices are often incomplete. Decision discernment 28 Check your examples Three good cases aren’t a pattern. Decision discernment 29 Separate cause from coincidence Things that happen together don’t always cause each other. Decision discernment 30 Check polished work, including AI Polish is not evidence. Decision discernment 31 Lead with the decision Say what you want decided in the first sixty seconds. Decision influence 32 Cut your weaker reasons Adding reasons can make your case weaker. Decision influence 33 Offer options, then recommend one Options respect their authority. A recommendation shows your judgment. Decision influence 34 Put a number on “likely” Probability words mean very different things to different people. Decision influence 35 Name one uncertainty and how you’d manage it Clear uncertainty builds credibility. Vague uncertainty erodes it. Decision influence 36 Pre-wire the decision Most decisions are shaped before the meeting starts. Decision influence 37 Build the rebuttal in Name where you might be wrong before someone else does. Decision influence 38 Separate the concern from the verdict Raise the risk without condemning the plan. Decision influence 39 Mark the edge of what you know Credibility comes from being accurate about where your knowledge stops. Decision influence 40 Close the loop visibly Follow-through is what turns a good meeting into a decision. Decision influence 