I came up with four different stakeholder classes and talked about an experience of this difficulty, and segued to talk about how to overcome this. The different stakeholders were: business, detractors, gatekeeper / regulator, sponsor. Business stakeholders can be confused about what they want; they respond best to knowing that they are heard and by focusing conversations to what they hold as their value to the organisation. Detractors are potentially influential people who are anticipated to block project progress; they respond by seeing if there is a win-win way to get them onboard and also acquiring champions and allies to offset their effect. Gatekeepers can be reluctant to grant approval; respond best by being prepared, anticipating tensions with project needs, and understanding why they need particular deliverables in a particular format. Sponsors can be difficult to convince of alternatives; they respond by letting them think your ideas are theirs.