Difficult Conversation Skill

The conversations we avoid are usually the ones that matter most — and we botch them by winging it or over-rehearsing into a script that shatters on first contact. This skill preps the hard talk the way the research says works: get clear on the actual goal, understand the other person's story, open without triggering defensiveness, and plan for their reactions — so you go in calm and come out with the relationship intact.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The situation — what's happened, with whom, and the relationship (manager, report, peer, client).
• What you want — the real outcome (often a changed behaviour or a restored relationship, not "to be right").
• Their likely view — how they probably see it, and what they care about.
• The stakes & history — what makes it hard, and anything that's been tried.

Output Format