The start of the year might be a good time to think about how straight you talk and how you typically handle difficult conversations. Many of us say we talk straight, and we genuinely think we talk straight. But how straight do you really talk?

Check yourself out by scoring each item on a 10 point scale.

I am confident in my ability to...

1. Confront an employee with my concerns about his or her performance.

2. Be completely open and honest with my superior about issues I have with him or her.

3. Say "No" to a request I feel I cannot meet, without causing any animosity between myself and the other person.

4. Speak up to challenge a person in authority when I disagree with their views.

5. Speak to a person whose behaviour I find offensive or abusive

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How many of us are in relationships where something is not being said? 

It may be at work where someone’s lack of energy or commitment is driving you crazy but you have not said anything. Or it could be a colleague who complains continually about his or her personal life and you put up with their behaviour. Maybe you have family members – in laws, step children, siblings - who treat you with disrespect and you don’t know how to deal with them. Are there issues you are unhappy about in your relationship with your spouse or partner that you choose not to talk about?

Sometimes the issues we avoid talking about are relatively minor. Sometimes they are huge! I

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