The holidays bring people together—around conference tables, dinner tables, and sometimes around topics we’d rather avoid. Add end-of-year pressures at work, exhausted teams, and family members with strong opinions, and suddenly even a simple check-in can feel like navigating a communications minefield. Below are three practical tools you can use to navigate conversations this season. These are grounded in our communications coaching: the same principles we help executives, teams, and spokespeople apply under pressure.
1. Lead with Empathy
Empathy is not about agreeing—it’s about signaling that you’re listening. In high-stakes conversations, people tend to brace for debate rather than prepare for connection. The quickest way to lower defenses is simply to show you’re trying to understand.
Try this:
- Start with a validating phrase: “I see why that matters to you…”
- Ask a clarifying question before responding.
- Summarize what you heard—briefly—before offering your point of view.
This small shift builds trust and keeps conversations from turning into competing monologues.
2. Mind Your Tone
Often, how you say something can be more impactful than what you say. Tone, speaking pace, body language, and word choice can either escalate tension or invite collaboration.
What helps:
- Slow your speaking pace by 10–15%.
- Use “I” statements instead of “you” statements.
- If you feel yourself reacting, pause. You don’t need to fill silence; silence can reset the temperature of a conversation.
Your tone is a tool—use it to steady the room.
3. Reframe the Conversation
Reframing is one of the most effective techniques we teach in media and leadership coaching. It moves the discussion from adversarial to solution-oriented, which is especially useful when emotions run high.
Instead of:
“I’ve explained this three times already.”
Try:
“We’ve covered this a few times; let’s pinpoint the exact gap so it doesn’t continue to slow us down.”
Reframing shifts the dynamic. It nudges both sides out of defensiveness and into problem-solving, where real progress happens.
Feeling Stuck? You’re Not Alone.
Whether it’s a sensitive performance conversation, a tricky stakeholder discussion, or navigating family dynamics after a long year—the holidays tend to surface the very communication challenges we coach every day.
If you or your team want to head into 2025 with stronger communication tools, we can help.
Thank you for being part of our community this year—whether as a client, an Observer reader, or a partner in strengthening communication. We appreciate your trust and engagement in the work.
Wishing you a restful holiday season and a successful start to the new year.
— Yes& CommCore
Message Development + Communications Skills Training with Yes& CommCore
Do you have staff in management or leadership roles who could benefit from structured communications skills training? Are certain members of your team increasingly in the public eye – either internally or with external stakeholders, or the media? Those who often facilitate meetings, have frequent public speaking engagements (presentations, panels, short speeches), and spokespeople who appear on radio, TV and/or digital media interviews will benefit from professional development that helps them align with core messages and deliver key talking points, on-point, every time. Yes& CommCore helps our clients both develop their messaging, and ensure their team delivers. We do this through structured messaging techniques, like message mapping. Learn more about our Message Development and Communications Skills Training services. Tailored to your organization:
- We conduct research into your organization
- We customize our sessions to your specific needs
- We utilize expert trainers who have relevant industry experience and know how to transfer their knowledge effectively
- Our advice is based on research and what works, not opinion
- Sought after by trusted names in the industry
We know how to get great press. Our experts have been quoted and featured in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Contact Us to Get Started
To schedule a training or get answers quickly, use our contact form. We can also be reached at (703) 823-1600 or info@yesandcommcore.com.