Activity: Having Difficult Conversations
Date: 09/10/2023
Hours: 1
About the activity:
In this short course Marlene Chism explains how to have difficult conversations, build communication skills, and improve relationships, teamwork, and business performance. Marlene uses her expertise to work with business leaders and assists them when going through periods of transition or change, she has also written an array of books on developing leadership and stopping workplace drama.
Reflection of the activity:
Conflict and having difficult conversations are inevitable, whether it be in your personal or professional life. Due to a large component of my job being customer service, I have to have difficult conversations from time to time. In addition to this, I sometimes have difficult conversations with my work colleagues.
During the height of Covid-19 we had to check customer’s vaccination certificates and check them into the library – this led to disgruntled customers and very difficult conversations. Although it was a stressful time, I do believe it helped me gain confidence in dealing with challenging conversations, particularly with customers. Recently my team and I completed an Unconscious Bias workshop – this short course cemented what we were taught; try and make yourself understand where the other person is coming from that you don’t know what others are going through (which might lead them to behave a certain way).
I still find difficult conversations with work colleagues a little challenging, mainly because I see them almost every day and I don’t want to upset anyone or feeling like I’m stepping on someone’s toes. In this course, Chism mention that when people need to have a difficult conversation with someone, they will talk to everyone before talking to the one person they need to. I recognize that this is something that I have done in the past, however, in the future I will go straight to the source of the issue. I will also make sure to do this in person, rather than sending an email which can have a possibility of sending mixed messages or being read in a tone that I didn’t intend.
The course detailed the following steps for having a difficult conversation:
- Describe the situation.
- Define the relationship.
- What’s the power structure?
- What emotions and feelings are present?
I will be asking myself these questions before having a difficult conversation to make it easier. I believe it’s essential to think about what emotions and feelings are present – it’s no good having a sticky conversation if I’m already feeling upset or frustrated. By acknowledging my emotions, I will be able to better time having a difficult conversation.
CertificateOfCompletion_Having Difficult Conversations