How Clear Are Your Agreements?
How Clear Are Your Agreements?
Most misunderstandings are caused by unclear agreements.
Have you ever had a misunderstanding with someone that left you shocked, hurt or confused?
It was probably because you had an unclear agreement.
You may have thought that you were on the same page as the other person. But they had their own story of how things were supposed to go.
Unless you create a clear agreement together, and both or all of you know the terms, it is not a clear agreement. It’s a recipe for confusion or even a crumbling disaster of a relationship.
Here’s what to do when you have any kind of implied agreement, personal or professional.
1. Ask what you would like from this arrangement. What’s your best case scenario?
2. What are the terms you need to have from this agreement?
3. What does the other person want as their best case scenario from this arrangement? Don’t just guess or think you know. Ask them. Get a clear answer.
4. What are the terms they need to have?
5. Now that you’ve both put your best case scenarios on the table, what are the other terms or stipulations? Are there any dealbreakers?
6. It helps to write it all out so that you are both clear. But a heart to heart conversation works well too if it’s a personal agreement.
If you follow this, you won’t have as many arguments or confusing situations to navigate.