Managing Difficult Conversations

Overview

Strong professional relationships require energy and commitment, they provide the key foundation for managing conversations we might perceive to be difficult. This course will increase your confidence when dealing with conflict and inspire you to have vital conversations.

This course is suitable for individuals and managers who need to learn or refresh their skills with direct reports, colleagues and customers.

Objectives

By the end of this course, you will:

• Have the confidence to manage challenging conversations
• Understand how the environment, online or in person, influences how people behave and which strategies to use in different environments
• Understand your limiting beliefs about situations, people and conflict
• Understand more about personality traits and behavioural flexibility
• Know how to use assertive behaviour and transactional analysis
• Have practiced the skills and received feedback to enhance your level of competence
• Understand how to apply situation specific strategies to create successful outcomes
• Understand how to maintain your mental wellbeing and encourage others to remain positive throughout the process
• Know how your organisations policies and processes can support you in holding vital conversations

Thoroughly enjoyable and very good for the situation at hand

Course Content

Environment

• The impact of environment - online or in person, and why does it matter?
• The distinction between difficult and different
• Understanding the communication process - my world, my way
• Acknowledging needs, expectations and values
• Personality traits and preferences – different or wrong?
• Understanding behavioural flexibility

Managing Myself and Others

• Self-awareness first - holding up the mirror and asking ‘is it me’?
• Identifying personal triggers
• Spotting behaviours which don’t help
• Recognising emotion, truth and choice

Skills

• Understanding intent matters
• Incisive questions
• Listening beyond the reply
• Building rapport
• The confidence to be honest
• Resolving conflict through discover-define-decide
• Moving situations forward
• A more flexible approach - relationship dynamics for long term success

*Membership from £100+VAT per annum - join now and save on training