Think about difficult conversations like a traffic light.
🟢 Green: You're calm and thinking clearly.
🟡Yellow: Emotions are rising and you're becoming reactive.
🔴Red: Emotions have taken over and a productive conversation becomes much harder.
The interesting part isn't recognising red. Most of us can do that afterwards.
It's learning to recognise yellow.
Maybe you start talking faster. Get defensive. Interrupt. Go quiet. Feel your jaw tighten.
What's your yellow light?
We explore this idea further in our CCC episode about keeping your cool when conversations escalate.