From the Ted Talk by Betsy Kauffman: 4 tips to kickstart honest conversations at work
Unscramble the Blue Letters
And that mnoemt started getting me tnihnkig. Why as a society have we created this fear to speak up, especially in a group of our peers or our coworkers? Wouldn't it be amazing if you could tell your boss that that project deadline she put out there is completely unreasonable? And what about being able to tell a coworker that they're being really difficult?
Now I know some of you are lucky enough to be able to work in places that value that kind of openness and honesty, however in my work as a leadership and organizational coach, I have to tell you that is not the norm. I've obsreved hndredus of scenarios and coached multiple ppoele through sittanuios where they are afraid to speak up, they're ariafd to have those honset cotireosnanvs out in the open, especially when they're needed the most. And you probably know what I'm talking about: you're in meeting, somebody pitches an idea, not everyone agrees, but no one says a word. And then about two seconds later, somebody picks up their cell phone and bniegs sending a text message to somebody else in the same meeting, telling them how stupid the idea is. And let's not forget the proverbial wertcaoeolr conversations. As soon as the meeting over, they rush over to a peer or a group of coworkers probably near a watercooler and oeffr all kinds of opinions about that meeting. But the problem is that it's after the meeting instead of during it.
Open Cloze
And that ______ started getting me ________. Why as a society have we created this fear to speak up, especially in a group of our peers or our coworkers? Wouldn't it be amazing if you could tell your boss that that project deadline she put out there is completely unreasonable? And what about being able to tell a coworker that they're being really difficult?
Now I know some of you are lucky enough to be able to work in places that value that kind of openness and honesty, however in my work as a leadership and organizational coach, I have to tell you that is not the norm. I've ________________ of scenarios and coached multiple ______ through __________ where they are afraid to speak up, they're ______ to have those ___________________ out in the open, especially when they're needed the most. And you probably know what I'm talking about: you're in meeting, somebody pitches an idea, not everyone agrees, but no one says a word. And then about two seconds later, somebody picks up their cell phone and ______ sending a text message to somebody else in the same meeting, telling them how stupid the idea is. And let's not forget the proverbial ___________ conversations. As soon as the meeting over, they rush over to a peer or a group of coworkers probably near a watercooler and _____ all kinds of opinions about that meeting. But the problem is that it's after the meeting instead of during it.
Solution
people
watercooler
honest
moment
offer
afraid
begins
observed
hundreds
situations
thinking
conversations
Original Text
And that moment started getting me thinking. Why as a society have we created this fear to speak up, especially in a group of our peers or our coworkers? Wouldn't it be amazing if you could tell your boss that that project deadline she put out there is completely unreasonable? And what about being able to tell a coworker that they're being really difficult?
Now I know some of you are lucky enough to be able to work in places that value that kind of openness and honesty, however in my work as a leadership and organizational coach, I have to tell you that is not the norm. I've observed hundreds of scenarios and coached multiple people through situations where they are afraid to speak up, they're afraid to have those honest conversations out in the open, especially when they're needed the most. And you probably know what I'm talking about: you're in meeting, somebody pitches an idea, not everyone agrees, but no one says a word. And then about two seconds later, somebody picks up their cell phone and begins sending a text message to somebody else in the same meeting, telling them how stupid the idea is. And let's not forget the proverbial watercooler conversations. As soon as the meeting over, they rush over to a peer or a group of coworkers probably near a watercooler and offer all kinds of opinions about that meeting. But the problem is that it's after the meeting instead of during it.