Sharing ideas with your boss - what can 3 communications experts tell us?

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— 3 min read
Pitching to your boss illustration

Meet the Panel

Robert Cialdini – World-acclaimed psychologist and author of Influence and Pre-Suasion, who defined the “seven principles of persuasion”.

Simon Sinek – Leadership expert, TED star, and bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last.

Dan O’Connor – Communication coach, YouTuber, and author of Say This, Not That, known for his practical “power phrases”.

The old saying is 'we're all in Sales'. It’s not always the idea that gets rejected, it’s the delivery. Three persuasion experts show us how to prime, present, and pitch so your ideas cut through and stick.

The Psychology Before the Pitch

Robert Cialdini, the godfather of persuasion research, argues that the most successful persuaders focus less on the pitch itself and more on what happens beforehand. In Pre-Suasion, he calls this the “privileged moment”: the psychological window you create before you ever make the request.

If you want your boss to see you as someone who brings fresh, valuable ideas, you don’t wait until you’re in the spotlight. You prime the conversation days earlier. Maybe you ask, offhand, “Do you think our team is adventurous enough to test new ways of working?” The question isn’t the pitch—it’s the setup. Now, when the project idea surfaces, your boss is already leaning toward the role of someone who supports experimentation.

Presence Matters More Than Performance

Then there’s Simon Sinek. Watch him on stage and you’ll see he doesn’t stride around trying to dominate the room. He walks in calm, relaxed, even a little slouched. His arms are open, his head tilted slightly, his attention moving in dots—connecting with individuals, not scanning the room like a security camera.

That’s a lesson for pitching ideas at work. You don’t have to be a showman, and in fact, trying to “sell hard” can backfire. Instead, you need presence: the sense that you are speaking with your boss, not at them. When you walk in to float your idea, you want your body language to say: I’m confident, I’m approachable, and I’m listening. That creates connection, and connection creates space for ideas to land.

The Words That Carry Weight

Dan O’Connor, a communication coach, says people judge our intelligence more by how we speak than by what we know. His advice is blunt: stop watering down your message with intensifiers like “really, very, so.”

Think back to that weak pitch: “This project would be really, really good.” It sounds vague and juvenile. O’Connor would push you to be precise: “The pilot saved 30% of processing time.” One strong, specific word has more weight than a string of fillers.

And here’s another subtle point: O’Connor warns that people who offer opinions too freely end up devaluing themselves. If you’re constantly saying, “I thought that was great,” or “I didn’t really like that,” your boss learns to tune you out. Guard your opinions. Speak less often, but more precisely. That way, when you do weigh in with a project idea, it carries authority.

Bringing It All Together

Now imagine the scene again—but this time, you’ve absorbed the lessons.

You’ve already dropped hints in earlier conversations about innovation and efficiency, so your boss is primed to see you as an ally in that space (Cialdini). You walk into the office calmly, settle in with an open posture, and meet your boss’s eye like it’s a one-to-one chat (Sinek). When you finally speak, you don’t ramble or intensify—you land one crisp, specific sentence:

“I’ve been exploring an idea that could save us around 500 staff hours annually. In our pilot, it cut processing time by 30%.”

Now your boss leans forward, not back. The conversation continues. The idea lives and breathes.

The Bigger Lesson

  • Cialdini shows that persuasion begins before the pitch.
  • Sinek shows that body language builds connection.
  • O’Connor shows that words, when precise, carry authority.

Same idea, more buy-in from the Boss. And the difference between “let’s park it” and “let’s make it happen” often comes down to how well you’ve prepared the ground.

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