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Try Role-Playing Before the Big Face-Off

Role-playing isn’t just for actors. Before a face-to-face conversation with a difficult colleague, try a little role-playing yourself. Stand before a mirror or sit in a chair and imagine you are confronting your work-place foe.

The role-playing accomplishes so much. For one thing, you’re not rehearsing and performing at the same time during your big discussion. You will be calmer and better focused as a result. For another, role-playing is a trial run that will allow you to spot problems in your presentation while you still have the time to correct them and build your confidence.

Take the role-playing a step further and ask a friend or relative to stand in for the colleague and play devil’s advocate. That strategy will help you to anticipate objections from your colleague and prepare answers.

Your objective with role-playing shouldn’t be to try to control your colleague’s behavior. It’s clear you can’t do that. Rather, the goal should be to keep the troublesome colleague from ruining a performance—yours—that has so much riding on it.