Have you ever started a conversation and the other person begins to explain everything around the topic you brought up without addressing what you want? (why, yes, of course… we have all been there). When that happens to me, I feel frustrated and not really understood. These situations make it easy to wish people would just listen more but what if there was something in your control that could change the conversation to get your ideal outcome? It starts with getting clear about what you want in the conversation.