Be direct - Deepstash
The Startup Collection

Learn more about communication with this collection

How to secure funding

How to market and sell your product or service

How to scale and grow your business

The Startup Collection

Discover 95 similar ideas in

It takes just

14 mins to read

Be direct

Be direct

When having a difficult conversation, be direct and get to the point quickly.

Difficult conversations become even more difficult when the delivery is complicated.

Most of the time, the person you're talking to knows that a critique is coming, so rather than dancing around the subject, just get to it.

158

473 reads

MORE IDEAS ON THIS

Manage your emotions

Manage your emotions

Keep difficult conversations in an even tone and keep it professional. If you get emotional, so will the other person.

When emotions start to take over, remind yourself that the more in control you are of your emotions, the better you'll be able to deliver the message.

126

202 reads

Questions serve a double purpose

Questions serve a double purpose

Asking questions helps the participants to conversations process what’s happened and allows you to clarify and solidify details of the conversation. 

118

262 reads

Be specific

Be specific

The more clarity you can provide, the better the critique will be received during a difficult conversation.

Be honest and thorough with your feedback, and fully clarify why you're having the conversation. Offer as many concrete examples as possible so the person understands you'...

131

212 reads

Plan out the conversation

Plan out the conversation

Prepar for a difficut conversation in advance: think of what you’re going to say, as well as anticipate how the other person might react

The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to stay even tempered and not get flustered, and therefore deliver a more solid critique.

132

240 reads

Choose your words

Choose your words

You must outline the critique and the reason you’re having the conversation, but don’t stop there. You’ll also want to talk about the outcome you’d like to see.  

Illustrating what a positive outcome looks like gives the employee something solid to work towards, and helps them un...

125

205 reads

Offer a solution

Offer a solution

Clearly explain the reason for the conversation, the specific critique, and then offer suggestions to improve.

Even if the conversation is to fire an employee, you should still offer a suggestion that will help them improve in their next job.

Nothing is worse than deliver...

119

173 reads

CURATED FROM

CURATED BY

autumn_mm

Reading is my passion, leadership is my favourite non-fiction. A bit of a geek.

Related collections

More like this

When having a difficult conversation, be direct and get to the point quickly. 

Difficult conversations become even more difficult when the delivery is complicated.

Most of the time, the person you're talking to knows that a critique is coming, so rather than dancing around the ...

Be Direct

During a difficult conversation, be quick and direct. This is not the time for feedback techniques, as they will mask the point of the conversation and lessen its impact making it more difficult.

Often, the person knows that a critique is coming, so rather than dancing ...

Be specific

Be specific

The more clarity you can provide, the better the critique will be received during a difficult conversation.

Be honest and thorough with your feedback, and fully clarify why you're having the conversation. Offer as many concrete examples as possible so the person understands you'...

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving & library

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Personalized recommendations

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates