How do You Start Difficult Conversations?

Jason Frohlich suggests ways to avoid destructive conflict in difficult family conversations.

Starting those conversations aren’t easy, it’s having those conversations, once you start those conversations, it’s really important that you keep your cool. And it’s really easy not to keep your cool. So sometimes you just kind of have to have a confrontation and you have to put everything on the table before, a pre-emptive discussion before you have the conversation with the rest of the board or the rest of the partners, so it’s keeping your cool and not letting it get personal. And if it does get personal, being ready to apologize either immediately after or a day or two later. So, it’s really, during the conversation it’s your body language, try to listen, it’s really easy to be abrupt and cut the person off when they’re family and you’ve grown up with them. But when you do that and you lack that certain level of respect, it doesn’t reflect well on your relationship and also for the other employees around you.