Most leaders carry at least one conversation they have been meaning to have. It might be feedback, a boundary, a decision or a disagreement. The longer it waits, the larger it grows in the mind.
Preparing well often makes the conversation simpler than expected. This exercise helps you get clear on what you want, what you wish to say and how you want to be while you say it. Set aside half an hour, choose the conversation you have been postponing and write your answers by hand. Be as specific as you can. Afterwards, read your last answer aloud once, to hear how it sounds in your own voice. Then choose a day for the conversation, and put it in your diary.
Five prompts
- Who is the conversation with, and what has made it hard to begin?
- What outcome would you consider good for both of you?
- What is the one thing they most need to hear from you?
- How do you want to show up in the room: in tone, pace and posture?
- What opening sentence could you say that feels true and kind?
Clarity before the conversation brings calm during it. You are readier than you think.