You know what it’s like. You have to speak to them but you’d rather not. It won’t be fun that’s for sure. Far from it. It’ll be tough.
It’ll be tough to say what needs to be said and remain cool, calm and collected. It’ll be tough if they push back, sit there staring at you or get upset and emotional. It’ll be tough getting the outcome you really want. And it could even be tough dealing with the consequences.
It’ll hard work and emotionally draining. And it might even be confronting, unnerving and upsetting.
Will you remember everything you have to say? Will you say it well? Will you keep on track? And how will you go if they’re rude or get angry?
Most the time we’re not even aware how much anxiety and worry we’re carrying when we have to have a Tough Conversation. Most of it’s going on in the back of your mind – when you should be getting on with your own work or enjoying the company of family and friends. And this is all before the conversation has even started.
The good news is Tough Conversations don’t have to be that tough.
With The R.E.A.L. Method of Mastering of Conversations you walk away with a system – a practical, realistic, repeatable system – so preparation becomes easier, confidence increases and outcomes improve.
One-day Mark wrote down over 80 different types of Tough Conversations and only stopped because the point had been made. There’s a lot of them.
So Mark set about organising and re-organising them until he came up with the 6 main types of Tough Conversations: COOPERATION, CONDUCT, COMPASSION, CONFESSION, CHALLENGE and CONTINUE.
For each type, Mark has produced a Personal Conversation Formula where each letter stands for something you need to say or at least consider saying. You tailor and personalise the Formula to fit your particular needs so you have your very own Personal Conversation Script. It means you know what to say and in what order to say it.
So if you, your colleagues or your staff have to …
- Conduct a performance review and you want the person to listen, and I mean really listen;
- Pull someone into line and tell them to ‘lift their game’ but not alienate them;
- Handle an annoying customer but at the same time, deliver great customer service;
- Talk to someone about their personal hygiene;
- Deliver some bad news;
- Speak to a manager about an unreasonable workload or a perceived injustice;
- Say no to sexual harassment;
- Deal with someone who interrupts, criticises or mocks;
- Lay down the law and tell someone they’re treading on thin ice;
- Tell someone you find their comments unacceptable and you want them to ‘stop’;
.… then you’ve come to the right place.
Please
- Book a day and time to have a chat or or send me a message.
- Read a little more and watch a short video on how to Speak Up and say what needs to be said.
- Read a little more and watch a short video on how to Help an Employee Improve their behaviour or their performance.
- Have a look at a short video below on How I help you Master Tough Conversations.