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Making Active Listening Work
Be authentic.
Be energetic and focused.
Be aware of your internal voice.
Avoid assumptions.
Empathize.
Watch nonverbal behaviors.
Do not interrupt, offer advice, or make
suggestions.
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I Statements
• I feel (state your emotion)
• When you (state the specific action that you are
concerned about)
• Because (state the impact on your life)
• And I want (state the change in behavior you want).
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What Happened?
The Truth Assumption
The Intention Invention
The Blame Frame
accept multiple
perspectives
disentangle intent
from impact
move from
blame to contribution
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Feelings
Difficult conversations are at their core
about feelings.
You are not really dealing with the issue if
you leave out feelings.
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Identity
Ask what is at stake for you:
Am I competent?
Am I a good person?
Ask what is at stake for the other person.
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What can help when your identity isWhat can help when your identity is
challenged?challenged?
Ground your identity.
Accept that:
You will make mistakes.
You are complex.
You have contributed to the problem.
Let go of trying to control the other
person’s reaction.
Prepare for the other person’s response.
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When you deliver a message, youWhen you deliver a message, you
often want to:often want to:
Prove a point.Prove a point.
Give the other person a piece of your mind.Give the other person a piece of your mind.
Get the other person to do or be what youGet the other person to do or be what you
want.want.
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In a learning conversation, you::
Try to understand what has happened from
the other person’s point of view.
Explain your point of view.
Share and understand feelings
Work together to manage the problem in
the future.
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Communicating Clearly
Do:
Start with what matters most.
Speak directly.
Acknowledge different perspectives; use “and.”
Don’t:
Be too simplistic.
Present your conclusions as truth.
Use “always” and “never.”
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Problem Solving
Set the stage: purpose of meeting, ground rules.
Begin with the Third Story.
Listen to the other person’s perspective.
Communicate clearly.
Define the problem.
Brainstorm options.
Evaluate options.
Develop a solution.
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The Third Story:
neutral description of the situation
acknowledging differences between your
perspectives, with no judgment involved..
Introductions: CJ, ombuds office
brochures
Confidential, neutral, informal dispute resolution resource
--stress confidentiality
Serve faculty, staff and students
2 ombuds, 1 staff, 1 half-time faculty
Participants: name, department
Build towards difficult conversations
Many of you have had formal training in conflict management
Gap between understanding effective conflict management and putting these principles into practice
No end to learning—always a new challenge in conflict management!
we all have different ways of dealing with conflict
learn these as grow up, from families, neighborhoods, schools, churches, etc.
It can be helpful to understand our own approaches to conflict as well as those of others with whom we have conflicts
Instrument: did everyone get a chance to complete this?
-We often deal with conflict differently in different settings
brief description of each style
Answer sheet: hand out, have participants complete
Discussion of answers: questions, surprises?
What does this mean for you as a supervisor?
What insights does this give you about your staff?
What are some challenging combinations of conflict management styles you might encounter?
Understanding conflict management styles can help you in preparing for difficult conversations, as you understand your approach and the approach of the person you’re dealing with
Will discuss three communication skills briefly; all are key in difficult conversations
Respectful but direct communication
Most important skill in conflict resolution
How many have heard of active listening?
-can’t get too much exposure
-deceptively difficult skill
Review sub-skills
Why is this important for you in dealing with conflicts as supervisor?
Turn to neighbor: what is hardest part of active listening for you?
Large group debrief
I statements: how many have heard of I statements?
Very useful way of speaking directly to someone about a difficult issue without making them defensive.
Examples?
-use examples of conflict situations
Mostly will be thinking about conversations in which you, as supervisor, have to talk with an employee about performance issues or job-related conflicts, but topic is much broader and applies to any difficult conversation you might face in your life
Turn to different neighbor and talk about what makes conversations difficult at work
--Brainstorm as group
Difficult conversations: when talking about things that really matter
Difficult conversations: actually 3 conversations intertwined
What Happened: disagreement about what happened, who did or said what, who meant what, who’s right, who’s to blame.
Feelings: all difficult conversations involve feelings, which for many of us can be frightening
Identity: what the situation means to us and about us, as well as to and about the other person
3 common errors in the What Happened conversation
The Truth Assumption:
assume you are right, the other person is wrong
You think they are the problem, they think you are the problem, rather than seeing differences in interpretations, judgments, perceptions, values
2 sides or more to every situation, people see the world differently
The Intention Invention:
first of all, we assume we know intentions of others
often our assumptions are wrong--we assume the worst
we also assume bad intentions mean bad character/bad person, which leads the other person to feel defensive
try to disentangle intent from impact
--just because your supervisor’s comment made you feel stupid in front of your co- workers, doesn’t mean that’s what your supervisor was trying to do
The Blame Frame: see other person as at fault
this attitude results in defensiveness and denial, little learning
Move from blame to contributions.
blame=judging, looking backward, strong feelings
contribution=each person’s role in the situation
encourages learning and change, understanding, looking forward
Feelings at the heart of difficult conversations
Key: express your own feelings
acknowledge the other person’s feelings
What are the feelings that might come up in a difficult conversation?
brainstorm
defensiveness, anger, fear…
Identity: what the situation means to us, its impact on our self-esteem and self-image
A conversation that calls into question our identity can make us feel off-balanced, anxious; we can lose confidence and lose our concentration. At the extreme, we can be paralyzed, panic, feel the urge to flee, have trouble breathing.
“And” Stance: we are not all-or-nothing
Take a break if necessary.
How does the other person typically respond to this approach?
brainstorm
defensive, angry
In difficult conversations, want to move from stance of delivering a message toward a learning conversation, where you both have information to share and questions to ask.
In a learning conversation, instead of wanting to persuade and get your way, want to invite the other person into the conversation involving mutual learning
begin to appreciate complexities of perceptions and intentions, joint contributions to the problem, central role of feelings, what issues mean to each person’s self-esteem and identity
Begin with the heart of the matter; resist talking around the main issues, especially if they are painful.
Acknowledge that your views and feelings may be multi-faceted and contradictory, and so may the views and feelings of the other person—use of “and.” Get examples:
I really care about you as a person and I feel badly about the recent death of your mother and I need to give you some difficult feedback about your recent work performance.
Ask how the other person sees the situation differently.
Keep in mind that there is another side to every story, as hard as it can be to believe it.
“Always” and “never” are rarely true, make the other person defensive, and leave little room for the other person to change.
Set the stage: invite the other person to join with you to discuss the situation and work on resolving the problem.
Begin with the Third Story: next slide
Listen: use Active Listening to learn.
Communicate clearly: your perspective, your contributions to the situation, your goals.
Brainstorm: what are the rules for brainstorming?
--come up with as many ideas as possible, the more creative the better
--don’t evaluate ideas
Evaluate: what works for each person? What doesn’t
use What If thinking
Develop a solution that meets everyone’s needs.
Talk about follow up—when, how.