I frequently find myself in Crucial Conversations with someone who is disrespectful and demeaning towards me. I have tried the strategy of apologizing for any wrongs I may have committed, but this person is only willing to talk if I take full responsibility for every wrong they feel I’ve committed and then do things exactly their way. This seems unfair. What can I do?

What is the root cause for people to choose silence rather than to verbalize what they want or need from others? Why would they avoid having a Crucial Conversation at the expense of what they need?

Recently I was teaching Crucial Conversations to a group and we were practicing how to establish psychological safety when one of the learners asked, “What should you do if you don’t feel safe during a conversation?” I muddled through a response but I’m not sure I really answered the question. The course teaches us how to help others feel psychologically safe during a Crucial Conversation, but what should you do if you feel psychologically unsafe?

I have a few people on my team that can’t take feedback. They aren’t bad employees, but when I try to give them constructive feedback they curl up in an emotional ball. I even had an employee walk out of the room and go home for the day because they couldn’t handle the feedback. I wasn’t firing them or even putting them on a performance plan. My friends tell me to chalk it up to sensitive “Millennials” and “Zoomers.” It’s true that many of them are junior members of the team, and I’m not sure what to do.

I have a domineering boss who micromanages everything I do. He has no filter when speaking to me and often is just outright rude. Whenever I send out a piece of work, he finds fault with it and tries to undermine my confidence. Having read online about his characteristics, I truly believe he suffers from narcissism. The sad fact is that he gets results and senior management love him, so he is untouchable. How can I deal with this aside from leaving the company?

I’m a great fan of your work, in particular Crucial Conversations. One thing I am struggling with, however, is how to practice these skills before applying them in a really Crucial Conversation. As all skills go, they need a certain level of mastery before you can rely on them when things get out of hand. What do you recommend?

At my last performance review, my boss was extremely positive and gave me great feedback, so I was horrified to later discover that he gave me a score of “below average” on the formal paperwork. I arranged a meeting with him to find out why. That’s when he told me I was disengaged, did not challenge myself, and did not collaborate well with others. I got angry and now he won’t talk to me. What should I do?

Working in the “new normal” is challenging since we have to fundamentally rethink how we work and how we communicate in a hybrid work environment. Can you share any insights, best practices, or strategies?

How do you tell an employee they talk too much? My employee often talks to the point of having to tune them out. They give every little detail and then repeat themselves and I cannot get a word in edgewise and I have to wait until they take a breath to interrupt them. I end up focusing on them taking that breath instead of listening.

I have an employee who makes negative comments and tries to undermine leadership. She is a great teacher, but she creates a toxic environment with our staff, and she has a strong influence on them. How can I handle this behavior?