Capsules
Working better together
Eleven people skills at work: separate facts from judgments, give feedback, say no, make a firm request, reply to a tense message, prepare a difficult conversation, get past a disagreement, run a short meeting
- Executive assistants, project managers and anyone who coordinates a team
- Executive assistants, project managers and anyone who coordinates a team
- 11 capsules of about a minute
- 11 capsules of about a minute
- Video capsules in Copilot Chat, Outlook and Teams, FR and EN, with the exact prompt to copy
- Video capsules in Copilot Chat, Outlook and Teams, FR and EN, with the exact prompt to copy
- Beginner to advanced
- Beginner to advanced
What you will be able to do
- Separate facts from judgments before you talk to a colleague.
- Give clear feedback: situation, behavior, impact, and say thank you precisely.
- Rehearse feedback or listening in a written role-play with Copilot.
- Reply to a tense email: acknowledge, inform, act.
- Say no without closing the door, and ask for a change with the DESC method.
- Prepare a difficult conversation with your manager.
- Get past a disagreement by looking for the interests behind the positions.
- Set up a short meeting that decides.
The method
Prepare on screen, talk for real. A people skill can’t be filmed on screen, but its preparation can: the method is written in the prompt to Copilot, the exact sentences appear on screen, the role-play happens in writing. One week, ten days before the Atlas launch, with Camille Durand and her team. Methods quoted with their source: nonviolent communication (Rosenberg), situation, behavior, impact (Center for Creative Leadership), the “Positive No” (William Ury), DESC (Bower & Bower), principled negotiation (Fisher & Ury).
Module outline
Sequence by sequence, timed.
- 01sk01 — Separate facts from judgments.
- 02sk02 — Give clear feedback: situation, behavior, impact.
- 03sk03 — Say thank you, precisely.
- 04sk04 — Rehearse feedback in a role-play.
- 05sk05 — Listen: paraphrase before you answer.
- 06sk06 — Reply to a tense email.
- 07sk07 — Say no without closing the door.
- 08sk08 — Ask for a change: the DESC method.
- 09sk09 — Prepare a difficult conversation.
- 10sk10 — Get past a disagreement: interests, not positions.
- 11sk11 — A short meeting that decides.
Capsules
Being filmed
Eleven people skills at work: separate facts from judgments, give feedback, say no, make a firm request, reply to a tense message, prepare a difficult conversation, get past a disagreement, run a short meeting
The capsules of this track are written and being filmed. The program above describes each of them.
The habits
- 1
A fact can’t be disputed. A judgment will be defended.
- 2
After the question, stop talking and listen.
- 3
Deal with the problem only once the other person feels understood.
- 4
A clear no today beats a yes you won’t keep.
- 5
One meeting, one decision, as few people and minutes as possible.
The prompt library
- In this sentence, separate observable facts from judgments, as in nonviolent communication. Then rewrite it with facts only: when, who, what.
- Help me prepare feedback for my colleague Sophie using situation, behavior, impact, plus a question about her intent.
- Play Sophie, a salesperson who is a bit defensive. I’m going to give her feedback about Tuesday’s meeting. Answer as her, two sentences max, then wait for my reply. When I type STOP, step out of the role and assess my feedback: situation, behavior, impact, and did I ask about her intent?
- Decline using yes, no, yes.
- Write an opening line that describes the situation as a neutral observer would, and suggests we find a rule together, for example requests before 5 p.m.
The resources
The resources
Sheets and materials to download or print.
Working better together
Executive assistants, project managers and anyone who coordinates a team
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