Find out How to Have Difficult Conversations:
Virtually everyone you meet has, at some point, faced with the seemingly difficult conversation. It is necessary sometimes to broach a tricky topic with a colleague, a friend or a family member. Being able to handle the situation with diplomacy and ease could mean a lot. You could save a business deal. Or cement a friendship. Or strengthen a relationship. For the purposes of this article, we will concentrate on issues in the work environment. But you may pick techniques that work both in at work and also in your private life.
What constitutes a difficult conversation? The definition of such a conversation is one that is likely to be uncomfortable for you or the other party. Or one where emotions could cloud the issue. It could be a talk that you’ve been putting off, or one where you know you should speak to someone. But you haven’t for a variety of reasons. It’s human nature to avoid unpleasant situations.
So, if you’ve been putting off a difficult conversation, don’t feel bad about it. You’re acting completely normal.
In the excellent Failure to Communicate by Holly Weeks, she writes that tricky and emotion-filled conversations at work are ‘so loaded with anger, confusion, and fear that most people handle them poorly: they avoid them, clamp down, or give in.’ There are many instances in which you may have a bad experience with this sort of conversation, and so naturally you would avoid putting yourself in that situation again.
Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of the manager’s wrath when explaining why a project has missed the deadline. Or faced with tears from an employee who has received a reprimand. Perhaps your experience is more in line with telling an important customer that the price originally quoted has now changed. It won’t matter to him that it’s out of your hands. All that matters to the client is that you messed up his order. And so he’s unleashed seven kinds of fury upon you.
Learn Better Ways to Approach Difficult Conversations
Instead of feeling bad, continuing to avoid the subject, or moving to the Outer Hebrides, we can give you the ability to manage difficult conversations with confidence and tact. With our unique sticky learning training method you will learn how to discuss what matters most & will feel confident in approaching such encounters in future and be able to use this for the long term.
When facing how to have difficult conversations, there are some techniques that can help. Most importantly is your mind-set. If you go into the meeting expecting it to be difficult, then it probably will be. Instead, try thinking about it in a more positive light.
Focus on the Positive Outcome You Desire, and Hold That Image in Your Mind
We are all made of energy and the emotions we send out can be likened to ripples in a pond. The anxious negative energy you give out will eventually hit the ‘other side of the pond’ and ripple right back to you. See how the outcome differs when you go into a potentially difficult conversation with a positive attitude. It is also helpful to try to discern where your counterpart is coming from mentally. If you can put yourself in their shoes, then you may be able to find some common ground, which could lead to an easier conversation. Aim for a win/win rather than a win/lose outcome.
One of the tools from our Influencing skills training is ‘word on head’. Which word will you have on your head when you approach a difficult conversation?
How to Have Difficult Conversations
You are more likely to react in the way you’ve always done if you are caught off-guard. Knowing there are better ways to handle these sorts of situations is great, and finding out how to manage difficult conversations is even better. You may possess many of the attributes we touch on in this training course, but may not have considered utilising them in a potential conflict situation. We all use body language, tone of voice and trigger words every day – wouldn’t you like to know that these tools were being used to their best advantage?
In reality, no one wants to raise sticky issues at work, but if you’d like advice on how to have difficult conversations with employees, then we can help. As mentioned earlier, you may well find that the techniques work throughout all areas of your life, providing an ultimate skill set for dealing with whatever life throws your way.
To understand which topics we cover in the Conflict Management training please contact us. For further information, here’s our Ultimate Guide to Conflict Resolution Skills.
