![]() ![]() It can be hard to separate the two, but strong communicators know that showing some empathy and playing it soft on the person and hard on the issue makes it easier for people to open up to you and to listen to what you have to say. As you’re thinking about what you want to say, keep in mind that every conversation has two ingredients: the issue and the people discussing the issue. If, for instance, you’re heading into a tough talk with someone who’s notoriously difficult or unreasonable, give yourself a few minutes to take some deep breaths and think about how you’ll frame the conversation to avoid escalation right from the start. Part of the challenge of tough conversations is that you need some time to steel yourself and plan what you want to say and how you want to say it. You’re probably better off planning some key themes you’d like to hit on along with some clear, simple responses you can use to keep the conversation moving forward. But the reality is that it’s really hard to predict how tough conversations are going to unfold. When you’re anticipating conflict, it might seem like a good idea to script out some potential responses. So here are some more constructive, proactive things to try instead: When a conversation looms, do you find yourself always bracing for the worst? Before you panic or get stressed out, consider that your anxiety and dread might just be creating extra work and distracting you from what you really need to do: get the job done. These experiences can be traumatic-especially if you were taken by surprise-and they can lead you to assume that all future talks with that person, or on that same topic, will be equally agonizing. We’ve all had the experience of being in a tough spot, and I’ll bet you can still recall how uncomfortable it was or how it felt like it took forever to play out. Let’s take a closer look at some ways you can prepare yourself for tough talks with a few tips and techniques for smoothing out the rough edges. But just because a conversation is challenging or uncomfortable doesn’t mean it can’t be productive. Whether you’re delivering the bad news to a stakeholder that you can’t finish a critical project on time, or you’re explaining to a Subject Matter Expert (SME) why you can’t use their content without rewriting it, having tough conversations comes with the turf for e-learning designers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |