Biff at Work: Your Guide to Difficult Workplace Communication

Have you ever received an email that made your heart beat faster or spiked your blood pressure? We all know we’re not supposed to respond right away, but how you respond will either increase or decrease the hostility and conflict. Hostile and undermining emails, letters, texts, and conversations can drain inordinate amounts of time, emotional energy and expense in the workplace.

For over a dozen years, the BIFF method of communicating in writing has helped thousands of people calm conflicts and create clear communication in response to misinformation, blame, and unnecessary anger.

BIFF (Brief, Informative, Friendly, Firm) is a simple, practical and structured way to respond to nasty emails or any written communication. It can help you get the outcomes you want by diffusing tension, containing conflict, and establishing professional boundaries.

This second book in the Conflict Communication Series focuses exclusively on workplace communication-internal and external-with instructions on how to use the four-step BIFF method with numerous examples of what works and what does not work to demonstrate potential pitfalls. It also includes tips on how to coach co-workers and others on writing effective BIFF responses to customers, clients, employees, and managers-instead of becoming consumed in unhealthy back-and-forth wars. Using BIFF with toxic teammates, workplace bullies, and threatening customers and clients can reduce the risk of lawsuits and complaints and make everyone feel more confident in workplace relationships.

Use BIFF to lower your blood pressure, turn down the conflict flame, and restore your confidence. BIFF is a game-changer when you have to respond in writing in high-conflict situations or with any upset person. Then use Bill’s EAR Statement(TM) technique in Calming Upset People with EAR for verbal communications in high-conflict situations.

Shiv Martin is a mediator, lawyer, government decision maker, and training facilitator. She has held senior positions in Queensland and Australian government justice agencies such as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Queensland Office of the Information Commissioner, and Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General. In her public services roles, Shiv has trained hundreds of government decision-makers in negotiation and dispute resolution. Shiv has expertise in managing complaints and high conflict behaviors in a broad range of workplace contexts, including large Government Departments, Boards, Hospitals, Schools, and Law Enforcement Agencies. As a statutory decision-maker, she has published several decisions in the information rights and privacy jurisdiction. She is a recognized mediation expert in Queensland, and her work includes coaching and assessing aspiring mediators. Shiv lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two young daughters.