Raising a Concern About Someone’s Tone Without It Becoming Personal
Tone feedback is genuinely tricky, since it’s subjective and easy to take personally. Here’s how to raise it constructively.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Communication
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Telling Someone Their Work Isn’t Meeting the Bar
Telling someone their work isn’t good enough is one of the hardest conversations to have well. Here’s how to do it honestly and constructively.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Ending an Unproductive Meeting Without Seeming Dismissive
A meeting circling without progress genuinely needs to end, but cutting it off can feel abrupt. Here’s how to close it well.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
When Someone Pushes Back on Feedback You Know Is Accurate
Genuine pushback on accurate feedback puts you in a real bind. Here’s how to hold your ground well without becoming rigid or dismissive.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Asking for Feedback in a Way That Actually Gets You the Truth
Most people give polite, vague feedback when asked generically. Here’s how to ask in a way that actually surfaces the truth.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Delivering Bad News Clearly, Without Softening It Into Confusion
Softening bad news too much can leave people confused about what actually happened. Here’s how to deliver it clearly and still with care.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Finally Having the Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding for Weeks
The conversation you keep avoiding usually gets harder, not easier, with time. Here’s how to finally have it well.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Saying No to a Request Without Damaging the Relationship
A well-delivered no can protect a relationship rather than harm it. Here’s how to decline a request without damaging what matters.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
How to Give Feedback to Someone Who Reacts Defensively Every Time
Some people meet nearly all feedback with defensiveness. Here’s how to give it anyway, in a way that still has a chance of landing.
Communication
Communicating a Decision You’re Still Not Fully Certain About
A decision often has to be communicated before every doubt is resolved. Here’s how to do it honestly, without either false confidence or excessive hedging.
Communication
Explaining a Change You Didn’t Make and Don’t Fully Understand Yourself
Explaining a decision made above your level, without full understanding yourself, is a genuine communication challenge. Here’s how to do it honestly.
Communication
Communicating Uncertainty Honestly Without Creating Unnecessary Anxiety
Being honest about uncertainty and avoiding unnecessary anxiety can feel like competing goals. Here’s how to actually hold both together.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Delivering Feedback That Lands as Useful, Not Personal
The same feedback can land as a helpful signal or a personal attack depending on how it’s delivered. Here’s how to make it genuinely useful.
Communication
Communicating Bad News Up the Chain, Not Just Down
Delivering difficult news to a manager or executive requires a genuinely different approach than delivering it to a team. Here’s how to do it well.
Communication
Writing Emails People Actually Read to the End
Most work emails get skimmed, not read, and the important part often gets missed. Here’s how to write emails that people genuinely read all the way through.