Reflection prompt #23

Assessing the risk of having or not having that difficult conversation.

For years I taught a graduate class called Interpersonal Conflict. The final project was each student’s presentation on the experience and outcome of a difficult conversation they’d had. I asked them to choose a difficult conversation they’d avoided, something that was an important enough problem that they could apply the habits and skills we’d covered in class.

I taught a version of this class in several universities and found that students wrestled with the same fear regardless of their background or history with the other person:

What if I make things worse?