Don't
suffer
in
silence
,
speak
up
!
Have
you
ever
found
yourself
in
that
position
where
you
are
boiling
over
as
a
result
of
what
a
colleague
or
a
manager
has
said
or
done
to
you
?
Here
are
some
tips
on
how
to
conduct
those
difficult
situations
.
Some
of
us
get
in
a
real
funk
when
we
are
faced
with
a
difficult
situation
,
don't
we
?
I'm
sure
that
you
have
encountered
such
situations
,
and
it
doesn't
take
a
great
deal
of
either
work
experience
or
imagination
to
find
one
that
is
either
embarrassing
or
frightening
.
My
worst
nightmare
was
realized
when
I
had
a
lovely
colleague
sit
near
me
.
He
was
a
wonderful
guy
in
every
way
,
helpful
,
kind
,
easy
to
talk
to
,
and
intelligent
.
Everything
you
could
ask
for
in
fact
,
except
that
he
smelled
!
By
that
I
mean
he
had
really
bad
body
odor
,
like
he
never
,
ever
,
took
a
shower
.
I
tried
subtle
hints
like
asking
him
if
he
particularly
liked
garlic
and
strong
cheese
.
"
Absolutely
!
"
he
responded
.
So
,
I
tried
a
different
tack
and
gave
him
some
body
wash
,
saying
that
it
was
an
unwanted
gift
,
but
it
was
of
no
use
at
all
.
Finally
,
at
the
point
where
I
was
seriously
thinking
of
changing
my
job
,
another
colleague
approached
him
and
told
him
directly
that
he
needed
to
clean
up
his
act
?
literally
!
There
was
no
,
no
raised
voices
,
and
no
adverse
reaction
.
He
simply
apologized
,
looked
over
at
me
as
the
realization
suddenly
on
him
at
what
I
had
been
hinting
about
for
some
weeks
,
and
asked
me
,
"
Why
didn't
you
say
something
?
"
I
felt
rather
stupid
and
embarrassed
and
vowed
that
that
was
the
last
time
I
would
avoid
a
direct
conversation
.
So
,
the
next
time
you
want
to
shy
away
from
an
awkward
conversation
,
bite
the
bullet
,
and
exercise
that
tongue
.
Don't
wait
until
the
problem
is
acute
.
If
you
do
,
then
you
are
much
more
likely
to
be
aggressive
or
,
which
will
immediately
the
other
person
.
Instead
,
as
my
colleague
did
,
address
the
issue
in
a
calm
,
matter
-
of
-
fact
way
.
It's
the
tone
of
voice
you
might
adopt
if
you
had
an
issue
with
say
.
.
.
the
computer
,
for
example
.
If
you
do
that
,
you
will
discover
that
it
will
not
only
make
your
professional
life
a
lot
more
pleasant
,
but
also
make
the
astonishing
discovery
that
most
of
your
colleagues
?
and
even
your
boss
?
are
quite
reasonable
people
!
Most
people
that
work
alongside
others
do
not
want
to
annoy
or
upset
their
workmates
.
So
if
you
let
them
know
,
in
a
calm
,
controlled
way
that
their
behavior
,
personal
habits
,
or
general
attitude
is
annoying
,
you
will
not
come
across
as
a
jerk
or
a
fusspot
.
Instead
,
they
are
more
likely
to
calmly
give
their
side
of
the
issue
and
hopefully
,
you
can
come
up
with
a
resolution
to
the
problem
without
resorting
to
HR
or
a
mediator
.
Having
spoken
with
many
students
over
the
years
,
I
have
had
to
listen
to
a
fair
few
whose
voices
are
drowned
out
by
close
colleagues
shouting
down
the
phone
.
Rather
than
tolerating
this
anti
-
social
behavior
,
why
not
talk
to
the
worst
offender
in
a
quiet
,
moderated
voice
,
explaining
the
difficulty
you
have
?
You
may
be
pleasantly
surprised
by
the
reaction
.
Let's
check
what
you
can
remember
!