Navigating Difficult Conversations

Navigating difficult conversations successfully is a combination of the right frame of mind and preparedness. When we think of anything that we consider difficult, why do we think it’s difficult? It’s due to a lack of training which doesn’t allow us to prepare. Anytime we haven’t had training in a particular area it is naturally more difficult. Once you’ve had training, now you know how to navigate the particular scenario. The next step is then beginning to prepare yourself. 

If, for instance, you are preparing for a marathon, you train your body daily for what is going to be uncomfortable and prepare your body to embrace it not fight it. This is where your frame of mind comes into play. The right frame of mind it takes to not only run a marathon but your first 5k has to be one where a positive outcome is envisioned. 

When you think of navigating difficult conversations in your business, your mindset should also be focused on having a positive outcome. Difficult conversations can often center around raising your prices, the client’s expectations not being met, your work not being appreciated or valued, etc. Again, let’s break down the perception of these difficult conversations. Why are they difficult?

Is it because you’ve never had to defend your work to anyone? 

• What if instead, you had a mindset that you weren’t defending your work and educating the client on it?

Is it because you’ve never raised prices before and never had to ask for a raise when you were an employee?

• How would the conversation be different if you shared your enthusiasm for the work you’ve created being in demand and of great value?

Is it because you never had to do things as a business owner that truly made you uncomfortable? 

• Leaders do uncomfortable things, take chances, take calculated risks, and believe in themselves. 

When we look at it from these perspectives, it’s not that these scenarios are automatically difficult conversations it’s that we haven’t had the training to answer and address the conversations appropriately and thus are not prepared. Once we have been trained, have the frame of mind, and begin preparing ourselves we are in a much better position to then navigate the conversations. This is what the Association of Virtual Assistants is all about. 

The AVA is bringing in guest expert, CEO, bestselling author, and international speaker Chris Dyer on Thursday, September 17th to help train our members on navigating difficult conversations. If you are going to be a successful leader, if you are going to have a team, if you are going to build an empire, if you are going to do anything in life that is of worth and value it’s not going to be handed to you and at some point, you are going to have to navigate difficult conversations. 

In order to navigate the conversations successfully, we have to keep the mindset that a difficult conversation is merely a conversation. However, when a conversation is less casual and more challenging thus being “difficult”, we automatically perceive the future outcome to be undesirable. Possibly negative. That’s not what conversations are about. In fact, conversations are designed to have positive outcomes. Even if both parties are not agreeable on the outcomes, you can still have a positive conversation that is difficult in nature and part ways professionally and on mutually agreeable terms. 

Follow our blog series this month as we dive deeper into specific topics centered around navigating difficult conversations. 

To get the training, education, and support you need daily to navigate difficult conversations – join the AVA. 

We see you. We hear you. We value you.