Comments on: Having Awkward Conversations at Work

By: Dear Debt

Dear Debt — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 23:09:26 +0000

Love these tips! As a manager or leader in an org, it’s so important to be able to deliver all kinds of news with tact and grace. Thanks for the tips!

By: Tahnya Kristina

Tahnya Kristina — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 15:46:26 +0000

Oh I am so over chit chatting with people at my work. Being social at work only gets us in trouble and hurts our career. If you don’t talk with anyone, just polietly smile, there will be no awkward conversations. 🙂 Just saying.

By: Updates: June 9-15 | The Outlier Model

Updates: June 9-15 | The Outlier Model — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:53:35 +0000

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By: Dylann Andre

Dylann Andre — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:56:14 +0000

I used to have awkward conversations with my boss when I was working at college. I eventually learned through time how to deal with it. I usually organize first in my mind what and how am I going to say what I have to say before I approach my boss.

By: KK @ Student Debt Survivor

KK @ Student Debt Survivor — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:58:50 +0000

In the therapy world we call what you described in “think” as “sitting with silence”. If things feel awkward or weird, sit with it for a minute. Don’t try to fill in the space to avoid those awkward feelings. It takes a lot of practice, but once you get good you can use the silence to think or reflect, or make the other person speak (they will feel weird and fill in the silence). Good tips.

By: Jane Savers @ Solving The Money Puzzle

Jane Savers @ Solving The Money Puzzle — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:07:52 +0000

Umm, I am not sure what to say so I guess this is an area I need to work on.

I am better in person then on the phone. I notice more verbal stumbles when I am on the phone.

By: ND Chic

ND Chic — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:00:14 +0000

I find its helpful to be forthright with bad news rather than trying to sugar coat it. These are very good life skills that everybody should have.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:46:54 +0000

Definitely good to brush up on these skills, particularly when bad news needs to be delivered!

By: Jordann @ My Alternate Life

Jordann @ My Alternate Life — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:37:45 +0000

This is great advice. I took a class in University called “Management Skills Development” which really should have been called “How to talk to people”. It basically centred around all of this stuff, how to have productive problem solving conversations at work in a way that leaves everyone feeling positive about the interaction. We did a lot of role playing and I’ve found it to be extremely beneficial.

Covering tough topics at work can suck, but with a little deliberate preparation, it doesn’t have to be so bad!

By: eemusings

eemusings — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:35:02 +0000

Ooh, good tips. Learning to be comfortable with silence (and thus avoiding the urge to fill the void) is a really powerful thing.