Sleep and talk
Uptight, anxious, stressed, out of sorts, or uncomfortable?..
My fave hotel, despite more exquisite experiences, is the purple palace (you know the ads, with Lenny Henry assuring a good sleep?) …
🛌 King-sized comfort, despite having to – very literally - climb into bed (I’m 5’1 in case you’ve only met me online!).
Plus, they’re delightfully generous with tea-guzzling supplies (although I inevitably head to reception to scrounge teabags and milk in a hoodie having inadequate pockets!!)
Anyway, it's 🌎World Mental Health Day – and sleep quality is closely linked to Mental Health. We don't want to feel uptight, anxious, stressed, out of sorts, or uncomfortable at all.
Likewise, during or after conversations - worse still, losing confidence (or sleep!) or not finding the words!
Talking of words - I recently realised that my job (for over 20 years) is best summed up as helping people with difficult conversations!
So here's the difficult conversation and Mental Health connection:
We need to feel OK, safe enough in conversation, even if we're not completely confident.
Not feeling supremely confident is normal, by-the-way! We don’t know what to expect. And it’s good to have the balance of challenge of the unknown without it being a threat.
The antidote to threat is Psychological Safety - for open, honest, constructive, confident conversation.
So, a quick checklist ahead of an anticipated difficult conversation:
1. What might make it uneasy?
2. How could it be made more comfortable?
3. What can make it feel safer?
You know how ‘cash is king’ in financial uncertainty? Well, to not lose sleep over difficult (or any) conversations, it’s worth remembering to aim for king-sized comfort!
Wishing you comfort, this World Mental Health Day, in and out of conversations ... a cuppa 🫖and early night will do me!
P.S. If you’re a leader handling difficult conversations, the new group mastermind programme might be for you: Get in touch for details.
“Great workshop. Amazing follow up. Offered to help in future.”