Managing Difficult Conversations - Geelong
Managing Difficult Conversations Geelong
Stanford University, Class of 1987 Course Syllabus By.MarcusClLirkson.
**Overview**
We've all gotten that knot in our stomach when we know a tough conversation is looming. From handling poor performance and bad news to managing workplace conflict and toxic colleagues, these interactions challenge our ability to communicate through complex emotional situations. After two decades of consulting with Australian businesses, I've discovered that the conversations we dodge usually end up being the problems we wrestle with.
This is an immersion workshop to shift your process around those difficult or challenging conversations at work. You won't even have to dread those interactions: you'll have the confidence and skills to actually bring those interactions off with grace and style. Entirely practical, we use real situations that you come up against in the workplace, not theoretical situations that you will never use.
**Learning Outcomes**
Upon successful completion of this course:
Strategically prepare for tough discussions by following a structured framework that helps you to lower nervousness and increase success
Calm the emotional waters (in both their emotions and yours) during heated conversations
Deliver negative news with clarity and compassion while preserving relationships on a professional level
Handle defensive responses like anger, tears, silence, and excuses with ease
Guide the conversation to solutions instead of getting caught in the blame game or circular arguments
Follow up and hold parents and teens accountable to making long lasting progress and relationship building
Recognise warning signs that conflicts could be brewing and work to address these challenges before they spiral out of control.
**Course Curriculum**
**Module 1: Foundation Skills**
Why hard talks feel so hard to have
Prevent vs Connect: The price of avoidance vs the value of head on conversation
Shaping your confidence base: preparation strategies to get the jump on the conversation.
**Module 2: Preparation and Planning**
The CLEAR planning framework for conversation
Defining realistic objectives and maintaining expectations
Selecting the ideal time, location, and tactics
**Module 3: Opening Difficult Topics**
Starting conversations without triggering defensiveness
The fine line between bluntness and brutality
Language patterns to help create cultures of collaboration rather than conflict
**Module 4: Managing Emotional Responses**
Staying calm when others are upset
De escalation methods and emotional intelligence management
When to stop, when to push on, when to reschedule
**Module 5: Solution Focused Communication**
From problem analysis to action planning
Handling resistance and excuses professionally
Creating accountability without creating resentment
**Module 6: Specific Workplace Scenarios**
Performance management conversations
Budget cuts and restructuring discussions
Inappropriate behaviour and misconduct issues
Team conflict resolution
**What You Will Learn**
You'll learn practical strategies that are going to be effective in the workplace. This includes learning how to prepare mentally and emotionally for difficult discussions so you go into them feeling confident and not terrified. Above all, you'll learn when and how to bring bad news and still preserve human dignity and relationships even when the subject matter is difficult.
The workshop offers tactics for managing typical emotional responses, what to do if someone becomes defensive, starts crying, becomes angry, or shuts down completely. You'll work on staying calm and sharp while others lose their cool, and get a feel for guiding conversations back on track when they derail.
We will unpack the language patterns which either inflame or decrease the tension and help you choose the words and structure that invite buy in instead of defensiveness. And you will learn how to discern the difference between being straight talking and unnecessarily brutal, a fine line that makes all the difference to what happens next.
The lessons pack in plenty of drills in follow up: If speaking up is only half the battle, then what? You'll find out how to follow up, track the sticking point, and make sure that commitments from fierce conversations are indeed made real.
**Concluding Remarks**
Tough talks need not be relationship killers or stress inducers, and when approached with specific skills and mindset, they can be powerful for problem solving, trust building and leading positive change. This workshop provides you with a reliable blueprint to turn the tables on these tense interactions while replacing your anxiety with confidence and skill.
You'll walk away with tools you can apply today, a better understanding of how people act under pressure, and the power to nip problems in the bud before they go up in flames. And most importantly, when you do it right, you'll find that direct, honest communication is actually good for your relationships, not bad.
The investment in these skills also has dividends, far beyond the work environment, by enhancing your capacity to handle difficult conversations in all areas of life.