Does your organisation need to give critical feedback or deal with underperformance? Are sensitive issues at work often avoided? Do your managers need to give team members some bad news?

This workshop will help you to manage difficult conversations at work. You will explore a framework for structuring conversations and discover what is at stake for both parties. You will also learn how to analyse, prepare for, and begin conversations, as well as staying on track and agreeing actions.

This workshop is for you if …

You need to have challenging or courageous conversations with your staff.

Outcomes

After taking this workshop you should be able to:

  • be more confident in having challenging or courageous conversations with team members and in approaching difficult conversations
  • be able understand key human elements at stake and use these effectively to set the context for conversations
  • create a structure for focusing on outcomes, questioning for clarity and applying a range of tools for productive dialogue. 

Workshop outline

Understanding difficult conversations

  • What are difficult conversations?
  • Choosing whether to have or avoid a conversation

Setting the context

  • Understanding the 3 conversations: ‘What happened’, ‘Feelings’ and ‘Identity’
  • Understanding human needs

Planning your difficult conversation

  • Knowing your purpose and ideal outcome
  • Your conflict handling preferences

Opening your difficult conversation

  • Starting from the ‘third story’
  • Managing your emotions

Staying on track

  • Communicating effectively
  • Showing empathy

Problem-solving and agreeing actions

  • Exploring ideas and options
  • Taking control of the conversation

Your difficult conversation

  • Practical exercises, self-reflection and feedback

Why choose us?

Find out why you should choose us and how we deliver our workshops face-to-face or online. 

Who should attend?

  • Developing level course: Take your skills to the next level
  • Experience: Strong establishing level skills
  • Minimum CEFR Advanced (C1) level English 

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an international standard for describing language ability. Track your progress.

Full-day workshop schedule

Face-to-face Public training dates 2024/2025
17-18 February 2025  
Face-to-face Public training dates 2025/2026
14-15 July 27-28 October 2025 2-3 March 2026
  • Length: 14 hours
  • Workshop fee: S$900.00 (subject to prevailing GST)
  • Venue: Toa Payoh Centre
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