There are conversations in which the stakes are high: asking for a raise, ending a relationship, giving a critical performance review, confronting disrespectful behavior, apologizing or disagreeing within a group. This workshop is about developing the skills to initiate the conversations which most people find difficult, unpleasant and generally avoid. You will learn the practical skills involved in framing a problem without blame or defensiveness and how to keep the conversation productive.

Target Audience: Anyone wishing to improve their ability to initiate a difficult conversation.

Workshop Objectives

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Describe why arguing never helps
• Identify the three sides to any difficult conversation and where to begin
• Describe how to adopt a positive learning stance and think like a mediator
• Describe the process of separating intent from impact
• Identify the process of changing blame to contribution
• Describe ways to acknowledge feelings
• Describe how to use questions without eliciting defensiveness