Managing Difficult Conversations

Effectively Managing Difficult Dialogue 

There are many moments in a day where we are faced with situations involving disagreement and opposition that can escalate to conflict and confrontation. Most people can think of a time when they tried to actively manage the situation only to have a resulting outcome that made the situation worse and adversely affected an important relationship. Our negative experiences with conflict and confrontation lead us to decide to simply avoid conflict and confrontation in the hopes that the situation will resolve itself - at least we won’t do any more damage. However, the fact remains that difficult situations rarely resolve themselves when we use an avoidance strategy to manage them.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to say what you feel needs to be said and not only preserve the relationship but enhance it. Imagine what it would be like to do this with your most important clients, your boss or a significant partner in your life. The good news is that it is possible with the right set of skills.

This practical and interactive course is directed at professionals who manage important interpersonal relationships, whether with clients or employees, where it is critical to be able to openly discuss and resolve situations involving disagreement or disappointment while maintaining or enhancing the strength of the relationship. In this course participants will learn:
• How to identify situations involving difficult dialogue
• The reasons difficult dialogue often goes off the rails
• The steps required to engage in dialogue that is candid, authentic and respectful
• How to deal with emotions and other reactions that impact us under pressure
• Specific dialogue starters to enable you to engage in difficult dialogue
• Strategies to stay in dialogue if the conversation starts to get off track