On my leadership courses or when coaching and mentoring, I often find people have a good idea of what they want to say or communicate.

However, they have trouble assertively expressing those ideas and getting their voice heard, particularly when having a difficult conversation or giving feedback.

The difficulty is staying relaxed and getting started, finding words you are comfortable with.

I often say, a conversation can break down into 3 sections:

1. Entering the conversation
2. Listening, responding, and giving your thoughts/observations
3. Ending the conversation.

Sometimes I call these the 3 L’s - Launching, Landing and Leaving.

To simplify the first and final sections, I collect entering/launching phrases by observing people in different contexts. These phrases help to start the conversation and create space, phrases like:

• I’m wondering…
• Let’s review…
• I’m noticing a pattern…

They can also be combined and adapted. Start your own collection.

Follow the link below to my handout, which contains many more example phrases.