SoftSkillHero: Practice Career-Critical Soft Skills with AI

Validate their feelings

To begin with, tell your colleague that their feelings are understandable. For example:

By validating Carla's feelings, you show that you empathize with her perspective. This will help her feel understood.

Conversely, be careful not to invalidate your colleague's feelings. For example:

People often say such things with good intentions: they want to cheer up their colleagues by telling them that their situation isn't that bad. However, this often backfires because the colleague might hear this as:

Which of the following statements validate Carla's feelings?

I can see why you feel your work wasn't properly acknowledged.

These things happen in meetings sometimes, you shouldn't take it personally.

Let's focus on the positive - at least the insights were well-received.

It's understandable to feel frustrated when you don't get credit for your work.