{"id":3875,"date":"2013-06-12T05:43:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T12:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/add-vodka.com\/?p=3875"},"modified":"2015-06-10T15:00:04","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T22:00:04","slug":"having-awkward-conversations-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/add-vodka.com\/having-awkward-conversations-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Having Awkward Conversations at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

I remember when I first started working in a professional office environment; I could hardly stand having awkward conversations. Even asking for things was awkward for me. Putting myself out there enough to ask my boss whether I could have the last hour of the day off (unpaid!) for a dentist appointment could give me cold sweats. Every time I had to own up to a mistake<\/a> or bring an issue to somebody, I would have an internal meltdown.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve become much better at having these conversations, mainly because of my job. 80% of the conversations I have as part of my position are awkward conversations, and I\u2019m constantly having to tell people bad news.<\/p>\n

\"convo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Observe<\/h3>\n

I had one colleague who had a knack for articulating bad news and having awkward, uncomfortable situations with people in a positive and collected way. I noticed a stark contrast between my awkward, jolted speeches filled with \u201clike\u201d, and \u201cum\u201d, and her smooth, thoughtful way of speaking.<\/p>\n

I approached her one day to hopefully glean some of her wisdom, but she had few answers for me. Rarely will a person be able to tell you how they do something well. It\u2019s then up to you to watch them in action.<\/p>\n

First, I reflected on these conversations after I\u2019d had them myself. I\u2019d consider what made me feel awkward about it; was it the situation or how the person was taking it? If it was how the person was taking it, were they taking it poorly because I wasn\u2019t delivering the message well? Did I say a word repeatedly? Did I feel that I got the message across? Did I ask the questions that would deliver the answers I needed?<\/p>\n

After I did this exercise a few times, I set out to observe my colleague when she had these types of conversations. How did her mannerisms and speaking style differ from mine? What did I really like that she did, compared to what I was doing? How could I incorporate this without giving up my own authenticity?<\/p>\n

Think<\/h3>\n

One thing I noticed almost immediately after having gone through this exercise was that when she \u2013 and other people I\u2019d observed speaking well \u2013 spoke, she didn\u2019t use filler words. If she got to a point in the conversation when she\u2019d lose her words, or need to come up with an answer or a though on the spot, she didn\u2019t try to fill silences. She just thought.<\/p>\n

This sounds intuitive, but it\u2019s not used as often as you might think. Many of us feel the need to fill those silences with words, whether or not they are contributing to the conversation. The words \u201cjust\u201d, \u201clike\u201d, and \u201cum\/uh\/hmm\u201d do not contribute to the conversation. They are fillers. It\u2019s difficult, but try to cut these out by filling those moments with silence and thought. This will also help you say what you want to say better; nobody can think properly when they are talking.<\/p>\n

Rehearse<\/h3>\n

Going into a conversation that you believe to be difficult unprepared can be detrimental. You don\u2019t have to sound rehearsed, but reviewing what you need to say and what the purpose of the conversation is before you go into it will make it go much more smoothly. Consider what action you hope to get from the conversation; how you want to sound, what questions you want to ask, and what the relationship between yourself and the other person is like. You also should consider their personality and how they will react to different ways of delivering your message.<\/p>\n

You likely won\u2019t sound rehearsed anyway, because conversations can go any number of ways depend on the reaction of the other party, however, running through it a few times as if you were speaking to the person will really help.<\/p>\n

Wait<\/h3>\n

If you feel the need to have a conversation in the heat of a moment, try to remove yourself from the situation and come back to it the next day. Even if the conversation is one that you must have, it will go over more smoothly when you\u2019ve cooled down a bit and emotions aren\u2019t running high on the other individual\u2019s part, as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Being successful in these types of situations can be a hit or miss. As you continue to do them, you’ll get more comfortable with them and they’ll come easier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember when I first started working in a professional office environment; I could hardly stand having awkward conversations. Even asking for things was awkward for me. Putting myself out there enough to ask my boss whether I could have the last hour of the day off (unpaid!) for a dentist appointment could give me …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-2"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Have Awkward Conversations at Work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I remember when I first started working in a professional office environment; I could hardly stand having awkward conversations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/add-vodka.com\/having-awkward-conversations-at-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Have Awkward Conversations at Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I remember when I first started working in a professional office environment; 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