Business leaders are often faced with difficult situation. Be it making decision, handling difficult clients, or holding challenging conversation. Engaging in difficult conversation is a thing that every business leader might have experienced in their career. During this pandemic, business leaders are required to stay on guard and handle it well. It is not an easy situation to handle. Intense emotion and responsibility can cause intense crisis within themselves.
Challenging conversation to be faced by business leaders
During a difficult conversation business leaders may feel overwhelmed because they still have to bring their strength as a leader while maintaining effective communication. Not to mention that every conversation is valuable because it must have learning opportunities. Here are tips for business leaders to handle difficult conversation well.
Clear purposes on every statements
For every conversation, make sure that there is clear purpose and you state it clearly from the beginning. Thus, even if you are wandering through clash and disagreements, you will still have purpose to get back to. It will be a reminder of why you hold the conversation to begin with. It can help you to forget all unnecessary fights and focus on the goals or purposes.
Address any understandings before it goes wild
During a difficult conversation, there must be a moment when you feel something off or uncomfortable. Before it goes too far and cause misunderstanding, it is wise to acknowledge what makes you concern or uneasy. The root of it can be either you or the other make mistakes. It can be probably because of misunderstanding. If you make mistakes, address the issue and apologize. Do not get offended if the others call you out when you have gotten it wrong. Be open-minded and receptive.
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Know where to stand
It is also critical to position yourself. It will remind you and others to understand the vantage point. For example, you need to let the others know that the topic you are going to discuss is something new for you. Or, you can also let them know that you have your expertise in the matter if that’s the case. Thus, the others will also understand if you speak from your experience or from other perspectives. This can prevent unnecessary clash and instead lead to mutual understanding.
Put emotions away
In business or professional conversation, many suggest that you should do it with emotional detachment and focus only on the goals. However, it doesn’t always come with good result. In fact, it is great to embrace emotion during difficult conversation. Use it as a powerful drive to result in the best outcome from the conversation. It also means you can acknowledge emotion that may radiates from each other during conversation and it is okay to do so.
Listen attentively
Be attentive during the conversation and listen more. Do not give immediate react to what others talk about. When you need clarity or understanding, you can ask question without interrupting others. Instead of react to the others, you can respond. Also, it is essential to avoid judging others. Instead, engage the conversation with curiosity and appreciation.
