Description
How You Will Benefit
Difficult conversations are inevitable in any workplace. Those conversations can create unhappiness, stress, and tension. They can also impair and even destroy relationships. When handled poorly, they are likely to result in serious problems that interfere with productivity and leave everyone involved feeling frustrated and dissatisfied.
You can’t avoid these kinds of conversations, but you can learn how to handle them more effectively. Developing the ability to handle these challenges will pay off in terms of reduced stress, increased confidence, improved relationships, increased trust, fewer problems, better teamwork, higher productivity, and better career opportunities.
Course Objectives
Successful completion of this course will increase your ability to:
- Understand the nature of difficult conversations and what it takes to handle them.
- Identify the seven stages of handling difficult conversations.
- Use empathy in a way that minimizes negative responses and strengthens relationships.
- Apply best practices for preparing, initiating, and delivering the conversation.
- Discover how to generate solutions and bring the conversation to a close.
Key Topics Covered
This course explores the following subjects in depth:
- Types of conversations people find difficult to carry out and the reasons why their difficult.
- Essential questions to consider before carrying out the conversation.
- Using empathetic language to establish trust and understanding.
- Key methods for getting the conversation off on a good start.
- Techniques for delivering the message tactfully, respectfully, and productively.
- Best practices for listening and responding.
- Common types of difficult responses and strategies for coping with them.
- How to generate alternatives and solutions.
- Guidelines for bringing closure to the conversation and tips for following up on the conversation, as well as your own skills.