By Adam Turteltaub

How do you tell someone something that they don’t want to hear in a way that they will listen? How do you overcome your own desire to avoid the conversation?

To better understand why people hesitate to have difficult talks and how to communicate more effectively, especially when the conversation is going to be a tough one, we spoke with Jason Rosoff, CEO of Radical Candor (podcasts).

People hesitate to speak candidly, he explains, for a number of reasons. For one, they may fear that the conversation will harm their relationship with the other person. They may also be nervous about facing a negative reaction, or even retaliation, for speaking out.

To help challenging conversations go better, he advocates for radical candor, which he explains means challenging directly but also caring personally at the same time. Be clear about the problem, he advises, and what the potential negative consequences are. At the same time, though, show you care personally. That includes giving the other person the benefit of the doubt, avoiding sounding judgmental, and focusing on helping them.

It also means being willing to listen to the other person’s side.

Listen in to learn more about how to have better conversations and how to avoid the more common traps that we all can fall into.