Dealing with Difficult Communication
Ever been put in a position where you would rather not have a conversation with someone?
You don’t really understand the way the other person thinks or know how to handle what could quite well be a volatile situation. The basis of relationships is based on Trust and Communication. When either reduces or fails, the relationship fails or dies away. Think of past friendships. The communication stopped due to them getting married, hanging out in other circles, moving town etc – almost immediately the relationship started to die due to lack of communication.
Very few of us can have long term relationships with others we don’t regularly communicate with. Those that do will be build on a terrific and strong base of honesty and trust. True friends weather the distance of time irrespective of decreased communication.
Understanding how you and your prospective communication buddy do actually communicate is a vital part to understanding how to approach the discussion.
- Set clear goals as to what you are expecting to get out of the discussion (Outcome)
- Set realistic expectations of how they will react depending on how you approach it and what you will be saying
- Be mindful of attacking them rather than the issue
- Avoid attacking their status, certainty and other brain triggers which could immediately put them into an away state
- Be mindful of their emotional position and intellectual capacity
The way you would approach the same issue can differ greatly depending on the above factors and many more.
Rushing into a difficult conversation without the correct planning and attitude can destroy any remains of a relationship. Take the time to relax your emotional state, examine the issue for what it is and respond to the situation.
Our Business Development Coaches have been trained in FACE Communication Profiling and can assist in handling difficult conversations.