Guess who coaches people through tricky conversations AND still wants to send stabby things through the screen on a school Zoom call? 😇

Guess who coaches people through tricky conversations AND still wants to send stabby things through the screen on a school Zoom call? 😇

Yesterday I was on a Zoom with my kid's school, and about three minutes in I could feel myself getting riled up.

I knew I was agitated because my husband (who was standing next to me) started rubbing slow, gentle circles on my back. He could see the steam coming out of my ears… which means I had shifted into “slow-and-stern with pointed questions” voice. 😠

I was legit mad. (DM me if you want the full rant. 😉) And I could see in the school advisor’s body language that she could tell I was mad, was maybe even a bit surprised to get “this version” of Sarah.

But the gentle back rub slowed me down enough to remember, this was about my kid. Mad as I was, I needed this conversation to go well, so I couldn't just let my anger run the show.

I slowed down to figure out how I might reset the conversation. I decided to reflect back what I was hearing: "It sounds like your goal is to better understand my kid's specific abilities in math, is that right?"

She confirmed, and I noticed her shoulders drop a little bit.
Ok good, we’re getting back on the same page.

It worked. Not perfectly, but enough. 😅

I know how freaking hard this is in real life.
And that’s exactly what we’re covering in today’s working session.

Join me this afternoon for "How to Start a Tricky Conversation."
Link in the comments.
(UPDATE: If you're seeing this after April 23, sign up for my emails to be the first to hear about the next workshop: https://lnkd.in/eQu7YtN8)

What do you do to reset a conversation when you’re mad?