Practice Courteous Behavior

► Daily Interactions

Practice Courteous Behavior
 Be present in your face-to-face conversations, meetings, and interactions.
 Put down the phone or mobile device. Change your settings to vibrate or better yet – turn it off. Especially during a working meeting or working lunch.
 Look the speaker in the eye – directly – continuously verbal communication is being exchanged.
 State a heartfelt “thank you” or send a short, thank you via email to a team member.
 Gain a reputation for being that “exceptional” and courteous person that everyone respects.
 Be the workplace example, thus setting the bar higher for the behavior of others.

► Difficult Workplace Conversations

Prepare for Difficult Workplace Conversations
 Consider changing the location of the conversation. Should
it be a public place with nearby witnesses? Virtually or by phone?
 Have a preplanned agenda for the conversation
 Identify the goal of the conversation – what do you want to accomplish?
 Plan the length of the conversation.
 Visualize and practice how you want to communicate (tone, method, etc.)
 Body Language – Be self-aware of your historic body language under stressful situations
 Practice what you want to say
 For bullying that occurs in a team meeting setting – partner with a buddy. Agree to support each other’s ideas verbally during the meeting.
 Begin speaking with a calm point of view.
 After the difficult conversation, summarize the key points discussed, and the outstanding action items.
Identify who is responsible for each action item. If you are uncomfortable verbalizing the summary – be sure to follow-up with an email summary.

► Document the Bullying Behavior

 Document each occurrence, with important details, dates, including any witnesses.
 Keep both a written and electronic version in a safe, confidential location
 You should not share your documented proof – be very cautious.
 Review the workplace policy and procedures for workplace bullying in your organization.
 Should you decide to escalate the behavior and the documentation log - have a pre-planned plan to escape for yourself, just in case.

► Group Meetings

 Practice strategic seating. Sit near a potential ally.
 Invite a sponsor / mentor. This may diminish the opportunity for bullying.
 An ally or mentor in attendance will provide another witness to the bullying behavior.
 Invite an authority figure whom many people respect to the group meeting. The authority figure present may alter or set for the tone and behavior expectations for all the meeting
attendees