Handling Difficult Conversations: Bovée and Thill Business Communication

Описание: All business professionals eventually find themselves in situations where they need to have difficult and sometimes unwelcome conversations. This might involve giving an employee a negative performance evaluation, explaining to your boss why a project you’ve been assigned is unworkable, or simply trying to smooth things over with a colleague. These conversations are challenging because they can involve emotions, egos, and legitimate conflicts with differing points of view.

Here are some useful tips to help reduce the stress of these encounters and ensure more productive outcomes.

Rehearse Your Active Listening Skills

Active listening is important in all conversations, but it is critical in difficult, emotionally charged situations. This style of listening involves making a conscious effort to engage with other people and to turn off your internal filters and biases in order to truly hear and understand what they are saying. Keep these points in mind:

First, put yourself in an open and positive state of mind. Even if the conversation is going to be difficult, adopt a positive attitude about resolving the situation.

Second, keep yourself engaged as the discussion moves along. Use verbal and nonverbal cues to let the other person know you are paying attention.

Third, respect silence. Resist the urge to jump in and fill every pause in the conversation. The other person might be planning what to say next or looking for a clearer way to express something.

Fourth, pay attention to nonverbal signals such as facial expressions and body language, which can help you understand things the other person might be saying—or not saying.

Prepare Thoroughly

Giving or receiving unwelcome news is unpleasant, and the emotional element can magnify perceptions of unfairness or poor treatment. Make sure you have all your facts straight so the conversation doesn’t get sidetracked with heated arguments over details.

Visualize the Situation From the Other Side

Understanding your audience is particularly important when emotions are running high. Try to imagine the challenges the other person might be facing and how this may influence any response to what you have to say. This could reveal useful insights, such as finding common ground that can help resolve a disagreement.

If You Are Upset, Vent Before the Conversation

Even if anger is justified in a particular situation, exploding at someone during a conversation will usually make a bad situation even worse.
Venting some of the emotional pressure in a controlled way beforehand can help you calm down and think more rationally. If possible, discuss the situation with someone who isn’t involved and whose discretion you trust, and let your feelings out. Another option is to write a brief memo on the matter and then immediately delete it. Even going for a brisk walk can help you burn off some energy and give your emotions some rest. By releasing some of the pent-up anger before the conversation, you’ll enter it in a calmer state of mind.

Clarify and Compartmentalize Your Emotions

Negative emotions have a way of spilling over into unrelated areas of human interaction. When facing a difficult conversation, it can be helpful to temporarily compartmentalize your emotions so that aggravation or fear in some unrelated part of your life doesn’t seep over into a business conversation.

Stay Tuned to Your Emotions

If you feel yourself getting tense, remind yourself to breathe slowly and deeply. If you’re getting overwhelmed, see if you can take a short break, such as getting a sip of water, offering to get coffee, or simply saying that you’d like to take a few minutes to regroup.

No one welcomes difficult conversations, but with a mindful and sensitive approach, it is possible to make these exchanges more positive and more productive.

See also http://blog.businesscommunicationnetw...

#teachingbusinesscommunication
#businesscommunicationinstruction
#businesscommunicationtextbooks
#teachingbusinesswriting
#businesswritinginstruction
#businesswritingtextbooks