Planning the conversation
Difficult conversations can easily lose focus and veer off track if you don’t have a plan of what you need to say and where you want to end up. And while some difficult conversations may come out of the blue without you being able to plan for them, if it's a conversation that you are initiating, it's helpful to take a moment to think about it before you jump in.
The steps below will help you to successfully plan a difficult conversation. At first it might be helpful to actually get your thoughts on paper and document these steps, but as you become more confident with the process you might be able to work through them in your head.
It's important to remember with this process that this is not a fixed script - they are key points to help steer the conversation and ensure you say what you need to say.
- Describe the problem - Prepare some facts and concrete examples of the problem that has led to the conversation.
- Identify the impact - Identify the impact of the problem and prepare some examples.
- Develop a way forward - Prepare ideas for how the problem could be rectified. This is just a jumping off point. You can negotiate during the conversation.
