Purpose
To show participants how to prepare for and have the range of difficult conversations with colleagues and clients they’re likely to experience in the modern work environment.
Objective
By the end of this training, participants will have the weaponry necessary to open and engage in difficult conversations confidently and successfully.
Overview
All of us face day-to-day work issues we have to speak up about. The easier ones tend to be those about systems and processes; impersonal things. The harder ones tend to be more delicate. Turning aside a client’s request, disappointing a colleague about a pay rise or promotion, confronting a subordinate about poor performance, punctuality, attitude and so on. Most of us find it less easy to deal with the delicate issues (we’d be callous people if we didn’t) yet we all know that they have to be dealt with in the end.
Whether saying “no” to a client, breaking bad news to an employee or generally navigating our way through people’s sensibilities, the right communication skills really can make all the difference to the outcome. The skills we’re talking about are 1) body language 2) voice-tone strategy and 3) managing our own emotions and those of others. This training – typically a seminar followed by a 1:1 coaching session for each participant – uses the following model:
Preparing for the Conversation
Action Check List
A module devoted to
- Remembering that there are two sides to every debate, then knowing fully:
- the facts; the desired outcome; the help you can be in achieving that outcome; what you want to happen next; the way you want the other person to feel after the conversation.
Emotional Intelligence Check List
All about:
- being level-headed; adopting the right, calm, positive mental attitude; thinking whether the other person has the intentions and mindset you imagine; thinking what part, if any, you might be playing in the existence of the problem at hand.
Having the Conversation
We go step-by-step through the essential topics:
- Choosing the right time and place
- Using the right language
- Being absolutely clear
- Avoiding condescension and criticism,
- Looking for and giving body-language clues
and many, many more.
