Managing Difficult Conversations

Managing Difficult Conversations

A Professional Development Course Outline

By Dana Harris, Business Expert

Every workplace in Australia has a common dilemma: the conversations that must be had, but that we just can't seem to get around to having. When it comes to discussing sub par performance, conflict within the team, or other difficult workplace issues, these conversations frequently become so overwhelming that they don't happen at all.

I've seen so many Organisations suffer because managers and staff just do not have the wit or the skills needed to have those tough conversations constructively. And not doing so comes at a high price, things like diminished efficiency, broken relationships, festering resentments, and lost opportunities for development and change.

Course Overview

This is a full professional development course that will change the way you think about having challenging conversations in the office. Instead of approaching these discussions as a fight to be won or lost, you will come to understand the importance of these conversations as a means for developing stronger business relationships and making the decisions that drive positive change.

This class goes beyond surface level communication tips to offer an actual roadmap of handling even the most emotionally charged conversations. You will learn skills that you can put right into practice that will allow you to tackle face to face whatever comes your way with respect, professionalism, and get positive results for everyone involved.

Especially crafted for Australian professionals, this course recognises the idiosyncratic cultural aspects of our own workplace communication styles whilst delivering universally transferable skills and strategies.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students should be able to:

Systematically design difficult discussions whilst reducing defensiveness

Utilise active listening principles designed to decrease hostility and build relationships between those in opposition

Control their (and others') emotional reactions during high stakes conversations

Lead discussions to a resolution as opposed to a cycle of blame

Choose the correct methods of conflict resolution, depending on specific workplace circumstances and personalities

Develop follow up strategies with teeth that get agreements to translate into results.

Analyse conversational results and leverage those insights to optimise your communication strategies over time

What You Will Learnt

Foundation Skills for Success You'll perfect a step by step strategy for preparing and delivering tough conversations that will see you enter into every conversation with confidence and focus.

Language Patterns That Get Results Learnt exact language patterns and communication skills that promote openness and cooperation instead of defensiveness.

Emotional Intelligence in Action Acquire practical tactics for maintaining your cool and composure when dealing with anger, tears, or withdrawal, and help your colleagues do so as well.

Solution Focused Strategies Gain the skills to recognise the underlying concerns of surface complaints and lead all parties to win win solutions.

Follow Through Tactics Learnt how to end conversations with clear plans and use follow up tools that keep problems from returning.

Recovery and Adaptation Learnt to confidently redirect conversations that go astray, and be prepared to adapt your approach if your initial strategies fall flat.

Course Structure

Module 1: Understanding Barriers to Communication Understand what makes difficult conversations difficult and learnt to identify the root causes for defensive reactions in a workplace context.

Module 2: Preparing strategically Learnt the art of a well thought out preparation; defining what you want, preparing for emotion in yourself and others, situation setting and how to set up the conversation for success.

Module 3: Powerful Opening Moves Discover starters that encourage unity rather than setting off defensiveness that build the foundation for a fruitful conversation.

Module 4: Navigating and Keeping on Track Practice how to keep a conversation on track when it becomes emotional or goes off track, so that conversations remain productive.

Module 5: Advanced Listening Under Pressure Practice the art of listening with responses that acknowledge concerns and validate feelings, whilst holding your own and working towards resolution.

Module 6: Solution Centred Discussion Turn problem conversations into solution focused dialogues that yield innovative outcomes and shared commitments.

Module 7: Emotional Management Develop a greater ability to handle strong emotions professionally and to assist others to regulate their reactions to have more productive conversations.

Module 8: Wrapping Up and Implementation Take conversation to closure, schedule follow up where needed and ensure that change is sustained.

Delivery Method

You'll learnt theory, along with real world experience in this hands on course. Participants role play, review real world scenarios and practice new skills in the safety of a learning environment prior to trying them out on the job.

Concluding Remarks

Awkward conversations are bound to happen in any workplace, but they don't have to torpedo relationships or create perpetual office tension. This program offers Australian professionals practical, proven techniques for turning difficult conversations into learning experiences and sources for positive change.

And they will return to work prepared with confidence, specific skills and a validated framework that serves to address the stickiest of workplace demotivators. The return on the investment in these tools comes almost immediately in the form of better relationships, quicker problem solving, and a more transparent, more constructive culture at work, where problems are tackled as opportunities versus swept under a rug.