What's your experience with stakeholder meetings?
Rushed, stressful, or perhaps just a sea of blank faces looking at their phones
I’ve shared previously that stakeholders management is the number one challenge raised by Project Managers who’ve joined the PPM Community.
It’s not surprising, for these simple reasons.
- They’re always in a more senior position than you.
- They’re often disconnected from either your company or from your immediate team, so the relationship is lacking.
- When you present/report to them, it feels like a big event as it’s not happening as often as your other project meetings.
The result, we treat these stakeholders as if they’re all knowing, but remember, they’re humans like you 🙂
They worry, they want to help (most of them), they don’t know it all, and in many cases, they have a stakeholder to report to as well.
Ineffective communication is a primary contributor to failure in the majority of projects, so don’t do what you think is needed, e.g, what you did on the last project, always look to find out what communication works best for them and what matters to them.
How do you do this?
You ask them 😊
Here are a few other tips to help.
1. Mirror Their Language
Don’t try to sound overly impressive with PM jargon. Be careful to notice words you would never use in conversation and remove them. Capture the three metrics your stakeholders actually care about and mirror their specific language in your updates. If they can get it in under a minute, they’ll stay engaged.
2. Use a Consistent Rhythm
Predictability reduces frustration and questions sent before you’re ready to answer them. If stakeholders know they’ll hear from you every Friday at 3 PM, they won’t chase you on Wednesday. It builds a habit of reading your updates rather than reacting to them.
3. Create Psychological Safety
Be brave enough to ask for feedback from your stakeholders or share a moment of uncertainty. Encourage them to provide feedback on what they think could be a problem or what their experience is of running a project like this previously. You never know what help you might receive.
4. Build a "Close down" Approach from Day One
Alignment often fails towards the end of a project, as the final few weeks of a project are treated the same as the rest of it. Create a close-down approach explaining how the final weeks of the project will play out.
5. Offer Choices, Not Battles
When there is a disagreement, and try not to worry when this happens, and present 2–3 viable options with clear trade-offs. This moves the conversation from more work to what matters most. This keeps you in control and shows you’re leading the project, not just reacting to what is asked of you.
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” — Stephen R. Covey
Stakeholder alignment isn't about ticking boxes. It's about communicating intentionally with structure, clarity, and respect for everyone’s effort.
Simplify the communication, more is always better, and remember, they probably have similar worries to you, so do the classic put yourself in their shoes, just without their salary unfortunately.
Have a great week,
Ben 💪🏼
