Apr 7, 2021
Join Paula Shaw as she talks about how to improve your skills for talking to people in pain and shares how to navigate your way through those "tough talks" so that you can feel more confident and competent when having them.
What do you say to someone who has just experienced a loss or some other type of traumatic event in their life? Most of us want to do what we can to comfort and support this person, but we may feel inept, uncomfortable, and apprehensive because we don’t know what to say or how to show up for them. After all, how can you ever find the right words to comfort someone who has just lost a loved one, lost their job, received an upsetting health diagnosis, or is going through a painful and messy divorce?
The truth is, there are no perfect words that you can say to make this person feel better. But, one of the worst things you can do is say something dismissive and insensitive or avoid having a tough talk altogether, because this leaves the person who is in pain feeling judged, misunderstood, and alone. And while none of us set out to make our loved ones feel this way, we sometimes do so unconsciously because we just don’t know what to say.
So, how can we create a sympathetic, reassuring, and supportive environment for this individual to feel safe enough to express their pain, process their feelings, and begin to heal? In this episode of Change It Up Radio, Paula Shaw explores the do’s and don’ts of compassionate behavior, things that are helpful to say and not helpful to say to someone that’s in pain, and the five steps of having a successful, tough talk.
To Learn More About the Show, Visit: www.ChangeItUpRadio.com