Dealing with apprehension in the creative industry

Dealing with apprehension in the creative industry:

As many of you may be aware, I am an artist by day and night in every sense of the word. As a performer singing and rapping, you can follow my journey as Thandi K, a budding musical enthusiast from the heart of North West London aiming to bring her creative writings to life in a way that can be enjoyed by the masses for many years to come. Additionally, as a musician constantly creating and living in the heart of the moment, you can follow my journey as ktproduced, an aspiring producer with a massive goal to work with and inspire thousands of artists and other producers alike. Both of them are a massive part of me and when people ask who I would rather pick, I simply don’t answer because both are me and a massive part of my musical career, responsible for getting me to this stage in my life of where I am today.

As a musician, I face many difficulties and these are both divided by the type of work in the industry that I engage with and the people that I come into contact with – but they are not wholly separate as based on the work tasks that I do. I have experienced many difficulties in various work environments, taking on part-time work since I was a mid-teen to make ends meet and be able to fund my interests and education and some experiences have been better than others for sure, which is why this blog isn’t just about difficulties in music. This blog is about difficulties in hostile/conflicting work environments overall but that which is inspired massively by what I currently am going through/have gone through but have been able to regulate better. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to share these wise words around as well as check out Thandi K and ktproduced on various online platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Airbit (for beats), to name a few popular sites…

How to handle and address sensitive issues:

-Within the workplace: All employees should feel comfortable to go to their employers or somebody higher up if they feel uncomfortable within the workplace or are experiencing any distressing issues

1. Engage in what the other person is saying by maintaining eye contact and an appropriate proximity to maintain closeness, privacy and remain attentive and ask the relevant questions that will allow you to understand the situation better and give the most appropriate guidance

2. Offer counsel and provide some guidance and advice in the moment and alert your employee that if you may need to seek further advice and ask them if they are comfortable with this. There may be laws in place based on the situation that they are describing but if they ask that you don’t discuss the issue further, then you should respect their boundary and maintain loyalty. This may also be a good time to recommend for your employee to make use of some of the support systems that your company may provide.

-What if you are conversing with another employee (some tips)?:

1. Preparing what you want to say beforehand will allow you to handle the situation calmly and avoid spontaneous outbursts of emotion – will also help you plan out what you want to say and you may want to consider having a third-party present but don’t get them unnecessarily involved as this may escalate the issue

2. As frustrated or annoyed as you may be towards the situation, the aim is to have the issue resolved and for the best solution to be found and brought into fruition so listen to what the other person has to say, be firm and empathetic and work towards finding a solution as based on what both parties have contributed to the discussion

3. Do not let the issue prolong itself, try to resolve the conflict there and then and then work well and productively together moving forward

-What about conversations about issues taking place outside of the workplace?

Note: It could be argued that the nature of a planned conversation can be emulated in needing to tell someone in your life some important news whereas unplanned conversations may be the result of built up and pent-up anger and aggression towards a difficult situation that we may be trying to avoid, and one whereby the desired outcome may not be so easily revealable

The interchanging nature of situations like this may best align themselves with situations regarding change on account of a more personal circumstance or relationships, where feelings arise in us afterwards that may not have previously been so easily recognisable

1.Collect all the relevant information that will help you formulate a point and allow you to be more assertive when it comes to explaining your given opinion – in doing this, also try to put yourself into the shoes of the other person and their circumstance which will allow you to formulate your standpoint and aid you in addressing the issue that is at hand

2.When discussing; listen, stay focused and remain calm in order to allow for an adequate resolution to occur