Communication is the skill employers rank highest and complain about most. Being clear, listening well and handling hard conversations calmly will do more for your career than almost anything else.
Active listening
Most people listen to reply, not to understand. Active listening flips that:
- Attend — give full attention; put the phone down.
- Reflect — "So what I'm hearing is…" to check understanding.
- Clarify — ask open questions ("Tell me more about…").
- Summarise — confirm agreed actions at the end.
People feel respected when they feel heard — and you make far better decisions with the full picture.
Giving feedback with SBI
Vague praise or criticism ("great job" / "not good enough") doesn't change behaviour. The SBI model keeps feedback specific and fair:
- Situation — "In this morning's client call…"
- Behaviour — "…you interrupted the client twice…" (observable facts, not judgements)
- Impact — "…and they stopped sharing details, so we missed a requirement."
End with a forward-looking ask ("Next time, let's note questions and hold them to the end"). SBI works for positive feedback too — and reinforcing good behaviour is just as important.
Handling difficult conversations
When stakes and emotions are high, structure keeps you calm:
- Prepare — know your facts and the outcome you want.
- Open neutrally — state the issue without blame ("I want to talk about the missed deadline").
- Listen — genuinely understand their side before responding.
- Focus on the behaviour/impact, not the person's character.
- Agree next steps and follow up in writing.
The goal is a better outcome and a preserved relationship — not "winning".
Communicating to different audiences
Adjust for your audience: give a senior stakeholder the headline first (bottom line up front), give a colleague the detail they need to act, and avoid jargon with non-specialists. Same message, different framing.
Put it to work
Run your next feedback using SBI, and prepare your next tricky conversation with the five-step structure. Rehearse difficult-conversation scenarios in Practical Labs and behavioural answers in AI Interview™.