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This is about How can I overcome objections based on opinion and not merit?

I was surprised to wake up this morning to a closed as unclear question more because I have no idea why people think its unclear. I got several comments that suggest they know what I was talking about. Yes, I think one of the answers got it wrong but that is only because I don't think the whole of my question was read.

The core of my question is about how to communicate effectively when the other party is being dismissive.

That being said It might have taken too long to get that point across and easily lost people given the votes. I didn't want it to seem like I was singling someone out but I wanted to provide concrete examples. This is still a problem I would like to have fixed and I don't know exactly what is wrong since I read it again and it makes sense to me.

What should I do to make it clearer to others? What should I remove? What do I need to add or change? I don't just want it reopened. I would like to fix it.

I cut out most of what was seen as distractions from the heart of the question. I also reformatted the title a little better. I am going to leave notes for the currents answers in case they think their responses should change.

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    Is there any part of your question that is not answered by: workplace.stackexchange.com/q/10832/16
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:36
  • The jist of what that talks about is talk to your boss. This is what I am having issues doing. It's hard to talk to Finance person about IT matters.
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:48
  • Sweet. I'm a hot meta
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 8, 2018 at 1:42
  • Voted to reopen this question, as per the edit it had it is now much better phrased.
    – DarkCygnus Mod
    Commented Feb 8, 2018 at 16:27
  • I have also voted to reopen the question.
    – Masked Man
    Commented Feb 9, 2018 at 1:24
  • Reopened, excellent edit!
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 12, 2018 at 15:21

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Oh for goodness sake, don't add anything. Part of the problem is it's long and meandering as it is.

"How to deal with" is going to confuse people because it's not clear what you want. Do you want help coping with a problem that isn't going to change? Do you want advice on how to address this with the individual? Do you want persuasive arguments to get him to change? Very unclear.

Then you go on to describe one issue re: budget and another re: tech. There is no focus to the question.

Make the question closer to something you'd post on Stack Overflow, in other words

  • Be concise
  • Be brief
  • Be direct
  • Omit unnecessary details (anything that does not have specific relevance to the question)
  • Show effort (what you've done to try to mitigate the problem)
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    For the record unnecessary details are any that do not have specific relevance to the question.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:38
  • @IDrinkandIKnowThings thanks, I added that.
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:41
  • I worried leaving out examples and other detail would invite criticism and misinterpretation or that it would be too vague. Then I would have ended up here anyway. I find it It hard to explain these things in only a couple of paragraphs. That is mostly the reason I refrain from asking on Workplace because it would take to long to set the scene to help people understand.
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:46
  • I could rename it to "How to present ideas in a matter that they are judged on their merits and not personal opinion" but that feels weird.
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:50
  • Do you want help coping with a problem that isn't going to change? No. The answer to that is just "Move on, It's not your responsibility. It's no ones. Someone has to do something or nothing will get done. We need PM but don't have any. Do you want advice on how to address this with the individual? Yes. Do you want persuasive arguments to get him to change? Seems to be an approach to the second question so yes?
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:52
  • @Matt that would be a better title, or "How can I overcome objections based on opinion and not merit?"
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:52
  • @Matt a better way to "set the scene", so to speak would have been "He will dismiss things out of hand such as food stipends in expensive locals to technology concerns." That says in a sentence what you took two paragraphs to say. (just offering pointers, not trying to be harsh)
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 15:55
  • @TheSnarkKnight I am asking for help and am not taking offence. Making a point is a common issue for me. If you think that is enough to make the point I was trying to make then that is awesomely reduced.
    – Matt
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 16:10
  • @Matt I would stress on the Omit unnecessary details part, as I consider it to be the source of most confusion a post can generate. Adding some background is OK, but you have to keep it brief. Otherwise, if you have to tell us a complete saga to bring us up to date to answer your question most surely someone is making a mole hill out of that situation (or is in need deep s***, and needs Legal or Professional counseling, not opinions of kind and experienced random 'strangers'). By being brief and concise you are more likely to get good help.
    – DarkCygnus Mod
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 16:20
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    @Matt yes, that sentence is exactly how to make the point. Remember, the problem is not what his is being dismissive of, or how, just that he is. To sum up what darkcygnus said, "Any detail that does not clarify only serves to obfuscate"
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 16:32
  • Good answer but somewhat ironic that four of the bullet points mean the same thing in the context when you're telling the OP to omit fluff... still worth the upvote though
    – Kilisi
    Commented Feb 14, 2018 at 21:30
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    @Kilisi I believe, understand, and hold to the fact that we should completely, entirely and totally remove repetitive redundancy.
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Feb 14, 2018 at 21:32

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