Tackle your fear of tough conversations and learn how to start speaking up.
For many, the thought of having to confront another person fills us with fear, anxiety and a whole lot of dread whether it’s talking to a roommate about their less-than-hygienic cleaning standards, approaching a co-worker who keeps taking credit for your ideas or telling a relative their off-color “jokes” are actually offensive.
Rather than deal with these issues head-on, we’d much rather put off the conversations to some later date or better yet avoid them altogether.
“We often picture a confrontation to include many factors that are distasteful to a lot of us: anger or hostility, thinking on our feet, the possibility of getting railroaded, potential rejection, or the worry we won’t be able to control our emotions that we’ll burst into tears or make a fool of ourselves,” said Boston University clinical psychologist Ellen Hendriksen, author of “How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your In