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In the work environment, where is the best place to have a conversation or start a conversation?
I think if you can, it's best to have it planned, and you need a room that's fairly quiet and private, and away from eyes and ears, so that whoever you're talking to can really reassure that it's going to be confidential; people aren't going to be overhearing it. Best to have no interruptions, if you can manage that, no phones ringing, no people knocking on the door. And make sure the room, of course, isn't covered by CCTV in any way. You need to have some reason for seeing that person so that the rest of the workforce if it's an open plan office, aren't wondering what's going on. So maybe just make up a reason to see them. And it's easier for the person, when they go back to their desk as well, so they don't have to say why they've been absent for half an hour or an hour, and have to go into long explanations, and really tie themselves up in knots. So just keep it private, keep it confidential, and make sure that the person is comfortable in that room.
Where would, in your opinion, be the worst place you could start a conversation?
In an open plan office, trying to talk to someone sitting at their desk and hoping no one else is listening. Or in a corridor where people are passing by, or outside even, where sound is difficult, somewhere that the person doesn't feel at ease. They won't be able to talk as easily, and they'll be worried all the time about being overheard.
