The Power of Positive Confrontation by Barbara Pachter

Author:Barbara Pachter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780738217604
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Say It Loud and Clear

There are two key areas to remember about using your voice in difficult conversations:

1. Volume. Are you speaking loudly enough to be heard? Many people aren’t, and this is true for both men and women, but especially women. The first thing I say in my women’s seminars is, SPEAK UP. I teach presentation skills, and when people finally raise their voices, they feel like they are shouting. I have to assure them that they are not shouting. We can finally hear them!

A quiet young woman was attending one of my four-day seminars—positive confrontation plus women’s issues. On the third day she shared a story. Before class that morning, she had stopped at her office, and her boss gave her an assignment to do on the spot. She had no trouble WAC’ing him: “I can’t do that; I’m in a seminar.” He responded by giving her additional work to do. So she said, “Don’t you remember? I’m in the seminar and can’t do the work.” He then remembered something else she should pick up on the way back from the assignment.

She was starting to worry that she would miss the seminar. Then she remembered what she had been learning, and it dawned on her that perhaps her boss was literally not hearing her. So she stood up and in an unusually loud voice for her she said, “I’m going to the seminar now.”

He said, “Okay, I forgot. I’ll get someone else.”

He had finally heard her!

2. Rate. If you’re nervous about having a confrontation, you may increase the rate at which you speak without realizing it. Talking too quickly will make it hard for someone to follow your WAC’em words. Don’t try to talk faster just to get more information across. If you don’t have time to say what you want to say, arrange to pick up on the conversation at another time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.