Heen: Naming emotions resolves meeting gridlock faster than rational debate
Sheila Heen · #57 Sheila Heen: Decoding Difficult Conversations · May 15, 2019 · at 47:43
Sheila Heen, negotiation lecturer at Harvard Law School, differentiates between leaking uncontrolled emotion and professionally naming feelings to unblock difficult workplace conversations.
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“I don't think it's usually good advice to be emotional, but I do think it's usually good advice to, if there is emotion involved, if you can name it and put it on the table, you can do it in a super professional way. I mean, if we're having an argument and going around in circles in a meeting, if I can just say, okay, so hang on guys, I'm frustrated. I don't think that we're getting anywhere, and I'm confused as to why. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to say. It doesn't sound like I'm being emotional, but what I'm doing is just naming the emotions in the room. Right? And that's going to cut to the heart of the issue much faster than continue to argue about the rational arguments.”
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