{"id":57737,"date":"2025-06-26T13:53:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"\/a57no00\/difficult-conversations-dos-and-donts-video\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T14:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:16:41","slug":"difficult-conversations-dos-and-donts-video","status":"publish","type":"product-content","link":"https:\/\/www.mindtools.com\/a57no00\/difficult-conversations-dos-and-donts-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Difficult Conversations \u2013 Dos and Don&#8217;ts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ew-video\" data-videosource=\"embed\" data-videotranscriptkey=\"transcript-ba8fad3f-76f5-4996-a378-569f754829ce.txt\"><div class=\"ew-video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"360\" scrolling=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/f8OxCrhl-5WSyalpf.html\" title=\"Difficult Conversations \u2013 Dos and Don'ts\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/div><a class=\"ew-video-transcript\" href=\"https:\/\/nova-live-content.s3.undefined.amazonaws.com\/undefined\/transcript-ba8fad3f-76f5-4996-a378-569f754829ce.txt\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Download transcript<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Transcript<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>Presenter:<\/strong> Difficult conversations at work are never easy, but they are necessary.<\/p><p>Perhaps, you&#8217;ve had to talk to someone about poor performance, rudeness, or even bullying. Here are some simple dos and don&#8217;ts that can help.<\/p><p><strong>Do<\/strong> choose a suitable place and time. Pick somewhere quiet where you won&#8217;t be interrupted and allow yourself plenty of time to chat through the issue.<\/p><p><strong>Don&#8217;t<\/strong> be afraid. Difficult conversations are stressful. Your first instinct might be to bury your head in the sand, but avoiding it will only prolong things. So, nip it in the bud quickly.<\/p><p><strong>Do<\/strong> be clear and upfront. Gather evidence and facts and explain clearly why this conversation needs to happen and what outcome you would like to see.<\/p><p><strong>Don&#8217;t<\/strong> make assumptions. Poor performance or negative behavior can be a sign that something more is going on. For example, illness, a relationship breakup, or a bereavement. Be respectful and listen to the other person&#8217;s side of the story in full.<\/p><p><strong>Do<\/strong> clarify next steps. State clearly what will happen next. What does the person need to do to improve things? What happens if they don&#8217;t change? Do they need more training or should they be put back on probation?<\/p><p><strong>Don&#8217;t<\/strong> forget about it. Once the news has sunk in, check in with the person to see how they are progressing and continue to monitor things carefully.<\/p><p>Difficult conversations can be tricky, but these handy dos and don&#8217;ts can help you to make them as pain-free as possible.<\/p><div class=\"ew-note\" data-type=\"neutral\"><div class=\"ew-note-body\"><p><strong>Reflective Questions<\/strong><\/p><p>Once you&#8217;ve watched the video, reflect on what you&#8217;ve learned by answering the following questions:<\/p><ul><li>What do you struggle with most when having a difficult conversation?<\/li><li>Thinking about time and place, what would the ideal setup be when having a difficult conversation at work?<\/li><li>How could you plan for a difficult conversation? For example, the things you need to address or questions you need to ask.<\/li><li>How could you follow up after the conversation?<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having difficult conversations can be stressful. Follow these simple dos and don&#8217;ts to make your conversation as pain-free as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"product-content-category":[6998,7064],"product-content-type":[2592],"reading-time":[5151],"class_list":["post-57737","product-content","type-product-content","status-publish","hentry","product-content-category-active-listening","product-content-category-difficult-conversations-essentials","product-content-type-video","reading-time-1-minutes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Difficult Conversations \u2013 Dos and Don&#039;ts - Mindtools<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Having difficult conversations can be stressful. 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