Ever wish the ground could eat you up?
Staying in a hostel in Cape Tribulation (Australia) years ago, a noise in the rainforest woke me up in my bunk…
As I was awake, I decided to use the facilities.
👎I edged out of bed and fell - a long way! And, in my sleepy state, used my outstretched thumb as a landing pad (the start of months of soft tissue injury!)
I'd forgotten I was on the top bunk! The thud set a drama in motion in the shared room - lights on, people rubbing sleepy confused eyes, not too happy to be woken!
I wished for the ground (well, the hut floor) to eat me up!
🛌 Did you know it’s World Sleep Day? Hence going for an option dreams might be made of in the image! 🤣
💤Some of us don't get as much sleep as we'd like - not least, to equip us to tackle tricky situations better.
Well slept or not, how should we handle tricky situations?
Hard workplace conversations have knock-on effects, such as time wasting - due to couching a topic rather than straight-talking.
😯 Or, extra stress and not raising alarms about risk early enough, due to over-thinking/over-planning.
[And women cop it worse, being three times more likely to be interrupted and more likely to have their opinions challenged.]
But avoidance won't help. So -
If dialogue seems more difficult than it should be, try these:
➡️ Instead of asking permission using ‘May I add…’ say ‘I’d add that…’ or ‘I suggest…’
➡️ Stop saying sorry. Just deliver your opinion, with ‘Here’s my input…’ or ‘My thinking is…’
➡️ When challenged or asked ‘Are you sure about that?’ before giving evidence to qualify your opinion, try ‘What makes you ask?’
🔸 AND, if you’re concerned about seeming aggressive, then smile as you speak. It lifts your tone and looks confident and approachable.
These techniques all save heaps of time, in person, by phone and in writing.
Try listening for women – or anyone - using less powerful phrases, and share these to save their energy!
👩🦰 No one wants to lose sleep over difficult conversations:
➡️ How can you (or your team) handle conversations more confidently?
P.S. If you’re stuck in a scenarios that’s causing lack of sleep, super stress and sweaty palms, then cut having crap conversations and get a fresh grip by grabbing yourself a 30-minute intro chat for some fast tips for your specific situation - see the contact page to book.
“Everytime we speak to you we master the difficult customer conversations a bit more and our confidence grows really quickly”