Henna Pryor is a Workplace Performance Expert, a CEO and the author of "Good Awkward".
She has spent 14 years in executive staffing and joined us with simple steps to ensure a professional conversation with your superior.
She says, we can't avoid them, but we can make them less awkward with these pre-work and conditioning steps:
- Are we thinking of our awkward feelings as a state or a trait? A state = "I feel awkward right now" (and it's something that will pass, and I can handle) vs. a trait ("I'm so awkward all the time") which feels more permanent, and less easy to work with.
- Recognizing the universality of it (confident people feel awkward too during those conversations)
- NAME IT - Ironically, the avoidance of awkwardness increases awkwardness, and some of the best ways to survive it is just by naming it and diffusing the tension in the room.
- Reality checking our emotions and self-doubt vs. letting it dictate our actions ("Would another person in my shoes be feeling awkward about this too?"). Look for the evidence and the facts. you can also ask yourself, "What else is true?" (for example, "I may feel awkward right now, but I'm also having this conversation and that's a huge step for me and worth being proud of."
You can learn more at pryoritygroup.com.
