The Magic of Reflective Communication: Psychologists often use the term “reflection” to mean repeating back what is said to them. This practice is also sometimes referred to as “Three Way Communication” in business environments.

As a supervisor or leader, regardless of your organizational level, there is no doubt that you are often called upon to give others bad news.

Telling someone negative information in the workplace can range from having to turn down simple requests to informing people of serious, life-changing actions, like layoffs or termination.

There is not one of us who will escape the occasional crisis in our life – events that challenge all of our coping skills as we come face to face with extreme physical, financial or psychological threats.

And while, by their very nature, crises are unpredictable, there is value in making specific plans to deal with these challenges.

What’s COVID good for? We all know that the pandemic has caused unparalleled devastation in terms of loss of life, ongoing illness, and economic disruption. But, as we all move to regain business stability and personal productivity, it is useful to reflect on the positive side of the COVID and other serious crises in one’s life.

You don’t need a reminder of how the past year has been one of the most stressful in recent memory. The tremendous mental (and often physical) toll of COVID-19-related stress has challenged our ability to cope.

The importance of maintaining a high-trust corporate environment cannot be understated. As S. Covey has pointed out, when trust is low or non-existent, business processes slow, resulting in high costs and low productivity.

Clear and effective communication in the workplace and at home is already difficult enough in our world of ever-increasing complexity and distractions.