Escalate the issue, not the emotion.
Five real scripts client-facing project managers use to put a problem in front of the person who can decide it, early enough that they still have choices.
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What's in the Pack
Five scripts. Three tone variants each (friendly, neutral, firm). Every one states the facts, lays out the options, makes a recommendation, and ends with a next step that has an owner and a date.
- When an approval has sat unanswered for three weeks and the critical path has stopped
- When a risk you raised in January has happened and the decision sits above your counterpart
- When a supplier fails on quality and the recovery needs a client decision
- When your counterpart has gone quiet and you have to involve their manager
- When work on site does not meet a permit condition and it cannot wait for Thursday
Who This Is For
Client-facing project managers who have to raise a problem with someone senior, often someone who is not their own manager, and cannot afford to sound either dramatic or vague.
You speak English well. The problem is tone under pressure. Too soft and the problem does not register. Too sharp and the record works against you later.
Written for PMs on engineering and construction projects, and for anyone who has to take bad news up a level and come back with a decision.
Get the scripts.
Five scripts, three tones each, one page each. Yours to paste into the next client email. No cost, and you can leave the list whenever you like.