**Managing Difficult Conversations**
Managing Difficult Conversations
Course Outline
Overview
You know that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach when you realize you need to have “that conversation”? I remember sitting in my car, last year, for 10 minutes after I’d arrived at the office, practicing what to say to Emma, one of my team leaders, who had been letting down the side by repeatedly failing to meet deadlines. I was literally trembling with my hands on the steering wheel! But here’s what I realised over years of working with Australian businesses — the fact you’re running away from these chats makes them only harder.
(Remember, this rocket-driven busy-ness simply fuels procrastination.) Just last month I was working with Rebecca, an operations manager in Sydney, who’d waited three months to tackle a team member with a poor attitude head on. By the time we addressed it together it had developed into an elaborate set piece that had become a performance-crippling problem that was destroying the department. The transformation on Rebecca's face when this happened was unbelievable – she said she wished she'd had access to these tools 20 years ago!
This course turns one of the scariest parts of being a leader into a real chance for good. We’ll provide you with the tools, the confidence, and the framework you need to engage in any difficult conversation with grace and efficacy and authentic concern for the people involved.
Course Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
Prepare and Organize Tough Conversations with a powerful, anxiety-reducing, and success-enhancing structure
Determine the best time, place and manner for sensitive conversations
Manage their emotions and respond effectively to defensive reactions in others
Use particular language strategies that deflect rather than add fuel to flames of contention.
Record the conversation enough while building trust and being respectful
Implement consistently to make permanent the positive changes
Isolate performance concerns from personal attacks and maintain relationships at work
Navigate all sorts of challenging conversations such as performance reviews, behavioural issues and workplace disputes
What You Will Learn
Module 1: The cornerstone of powerful conversations
Shedding light on our hesitance to discuss painful experiences and the true costs of burying our heads in the sand
The psychology of defensiveness and how to understand — and not fight — it
Constructing a confidence-vault in your mind: Tools to use in difficult conversations
Module 2: Planned Enough to Prevent Problems
The CLEAR model for structuring any tough discussion
How to collect facts, remove emotions, focus on issues, and set realistic goals
Selecting the appropriate timing, locale and manner for the different forms of discussions
Module 3: Language That Works
Particular words and phrases that are that opening and not closing conversations
How to provide feedback that inspires not deflates
Tips for remaining cool when the other person gets heated or defensive
Module 4: Handling the Heat
Controlling natural defense reactions - denial, anger, crying, and silence.
Real techniques for de-escalating encounters in the workplace
How to steer chattiness back on course
Module 5: Getting It Done for Results
Documentation practices that help everyone and hold people accountable
Designing action plans that people will actually execute
How they monitor progress without micromanaging
Practical Application
You will be applying what you have learnt each step of the way with scenarios that are reflective of typical Australian workplace circumstances. We’re going to role-play situations including how to react to tardiness and bad customer service, solving an issue with a team conflict and responding to performance problems. You’ll walk away with templates, scripts and a personal action plan for the conversations you need to be having.
Summary
Being good at tough conversations is not just a nice-to-have skill – it’s a must-have for anyone who wants to lead effectively and build good workplace cultures. I have seen nervous talk-avoiders who have developed into confident, caring leaders who can jump into the deep end with issues while preserving relationships and dignity.
Imagine the conversations you’ve been avoiding lately. How much mental energy are you devoting to worrying about it? How is the delay hurting your team and your output and your own state of mind? This course will provide you with what you need to transform those dreaded conversations into opportunities for authentic progress and stronger collaboration.
You’ll know you’ve really nailed these skills when people start thanking you for having hard conversations with them. They will respect your candor, accept your bluntness, and trust you more when they will know where they stand. You will sleep better, and more importantly, you will be dealing with problems rather than letting them fester.
Your team deserves a leader who can engage in tough conversation with grace and care. But most of all, you deserve the confidence and peace of mind that only comes from knowing that whatever tough stuff life throws at you, you can handle it.