Straight Talk is a set of emotional intelligence skills that can be learned, practiced, and applied in everyday life. In the corporate world there are endless opportunities for open, candid communication based on these skills.

Straight Talk to improve performance

Managers typically find it difficult to give critical feedback to their people. These conversations can become emotional, people become defensive; the outcome may be continued poor performance AND a damaged relationship.  Managers who are unable to hold these conversations effectively find themselves surrounded by under-performers.

Straight Talk to build teams

Teams often use politeness when they ought to use honesty. Teams that learn to talk straight are rewarded when they achieve great results and build great relationships.

Straight Talk to effect change

People experience their own personal transitions when organisations change. They need acknowledgement of their fears and concerns as well as support in getting on board with new processes. Sometimes they need to be confronted with the reality of inappropriate behaviours. When communication is poor, anxieties and frustrations mount, alienation sets in, and the change process falters.

Straight Talk to walk the talk

It is common for firms to proclaim values such as respectfulness, care for employees and the importance of customer service. Yet when employees are not skilled in the behaviours that support these values, the promises are empty. Straight Talk provides the specific behaviours that enable people to walk the talk.

Straight Talk to empower people

People are only empowered when they are able to speak up, make themselves heard and have their views and feelings considered. It takes skill to initiate a conversation in which you put forward a critical opinion or confront someone with the negative consequences of their behaviour.

Click here for outlines to our public workshops, or Contact Us to talk about training in-house

Use the ten items below to assess whether people in your organisation need to do more straight talking. Answer each item “Yes” or “No’.


1.    Managers put up with poor performance rather than confront people with critical feedback.

2.    People hold back on full and candid opinions when difficult or sensitive issues are being discussed.

3.    Rather than say what they really think, people use humour and sarcasm to get their point across.

4.    Managers more often tell people what to do, than take time to explore employees’ opinions and ideas.

5.    Employees keep quiet rather then speak up to their managers with unwelcome information.

6.    Managers rely more on use of power and authority to get things done, than on their skills in influencing and motivating people.

7.    People ignore behaviour they find offensive, rather then confront colleagues.

8.    People think they are performing well, then find their performance appraisal rating is poor.

9.    Managers experience frustration in trying to improve the performance levels of their less competent performers.

10.    The organisation allows people to persist in behaviours that others find aggressive or dis-respectful.