It’s Sunday night. You can’t sleep. Because on Monday morning, you have the dreaded task of having a difficult conversation with a colleague about a particular matter. It could be a colleague you admire or respect, but your responsibility to your team and achieving collective goals are more important. What’s the ideal way to handle this conversation? That’s exactly what we talk about in this article.
As MSLs, we often find ourselves in working relationships we didn’t choose. We work with colleagues across sales, R&D, and other departments, and external KOLs and HCPs. Our duty is to advance company objectives while maintaining scientific credibility and trust. To accomplish that, we often face difficult conversations: addressing data skepticism with a KOL, navigating treatment preference conflicts with an HCP, or confronting cross-functional friction between internal teams and perhaps a scientific communications agency.
To do that, we may have to deliver tough feedback, express disagreement, or negotiate priorities. In pharma especially, high stakes, strong emotions, and differing opinions can make these talks feel daunting.
Yet if handled sensitively, these conversations can build stronger relationships instead of breaking them down. If we can build a foundation of courage, vulnerability, and trust, difficult conversations can lead to productive, meaningful outcomes.
The importance of communication in the fields of medical affairs and pharma sales can’t be overstated. For MSLs, it means addressing tough questions from KOLs and HCPs with scientific credibility. For sales teams, it’s navigating objections around access, pricing, and value. Internally, both functions must align with R&D, marketing, and compliance. Having these difficult conversations builds trust, fosters collaboration, and keeps company objectives on track.
Here are some of the benefits of having difficult conversations and the costs of not having them.
| Benefits of Having Difficult Conversations | Consequences of Avoiding Difficult Conversations |
| Advancing project and company objectives | Emotional stress increases |
| Clear next steps and actions | Team efficiency drops |
| Reduced stress and tension | The other person never gets a chance to improve |
| Stronger working relationships | Problems resurface, often bigger than before |
Using this process, you can constructively approach difficult conversations in a way that fosters positive outcomes.
| Step 1: Open with purpose and benefit | Step 2: Invite their view | Step 3: Share your view | Step 4: Joint problem-solving | Step 5: Summarize and agree |
| Set a collaborative tone and highlight why the talk matters. | Ask open questions; really listen. | Provide specific, clear feedback. | Look for a “third way” where both sides gain. | Confirm next actions and common ground. |
| “I value our collaboration and want to ensure our interactions with this KOL are impactful.” | “How do you see the HCP’s priorities right now?” | “From a medical perspective, here’s what the published evidence supports.” | “How can we balance the need for practical data with compliance boundaries?” | “Let’s align on a shared approach before our next call.” |
Let’s face it: there’s reading about conducting a difficult conversation, then there’s actually having one.
There’s no better way to tackle a real-life difficult conversation than to prepare and practice ahead of time. You can certainly do this alone, but it’s often more effective to practice with a friend, coach, learning cohort, or helpful colleague.
If you choose live roleplay sessions or ongoing coaching support, you can act out how to conduct a challenging conversation and review a conversation afterward to gain peer feedback. In this way, you can reflect on what went well, what could be improved, and how you can adjust your approach the next time.
If you think you or your team could benefit from support around this crucial skill, Amplity Learn has training and coaching specifically on handling difficult conversations, tailored to pharmaceutical workplace settings.
