HALT: Check if You Are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired

Before a hard talk, check HALT; if you are hungry or tired, eat or rest first or move the meeting.

Mixed evidenceHALT is a recovery-programme acronym; MacCormack & Lindquist, 2019 · Emotion, hunger and negative mood; Swami et al., 2022 · PLOS ONE, field study on hanger

Studies support that hunger and lack of sleep raise irritability, but HALT as a tool has not been tested.

Why it works

Hunger and tiredness make small things feel bigger, and you are more likely to read them as attacks. A quick check catches this.

How to do it

  1. Before a tough call, ask: H, A, L, T?
  2. Hungry: eat something small.
  3. Tired: move the call if you can.
  4. Angry about something else: name it, set it aside.

What to say

Can we move this to tomorrow morning? I want to give it full attention.

Let me grab a quick chai and call you back in ten.

Avoid

Taking an important negotiation at 2 pm with no lunch after a night flight.

Example

Devendra noticed his worst client calls were late evening after long drives. He moved tough calls to mornings and his temper on calls improved.

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