Donna Schneider (dschneider@lifespan.org), Vice President, Corporate Compliance and Internal Audit, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer, Lifespan, Providence, RI.

This column focuses on useful tips the author has used to work through difficult conversations efficiently, effectively, and without emotion to determine the truth.

People will always have the need for crucial conversations, whether in their work lives as compliance and privacy professionals or in their personal lives. To be successful in those conversation, people need to be aware of their environment and how perceptions can change during the conversation. Simply put, we need to “look” before we speak.