Managing Difficult Conversations Training

Managing Difficult Conversations Training

Look, we've all been there. You need to have that conversation with your colleague about their performance, or you've got to address the elephant in the room during a team meeting, but your stomach's doing backflips just thinking about it. Maybe you've been putting off talking to someone about their attitude, or you're dreading the next staff meeting because you know there's going to be tension. Sound familiar?

Here's the thing - difficult conversations don't have to be the career-ending disasters we build them up to be in our heads. Most of us just never learned how to navigate these situations properly. We either avoid them completely (which makes everything worse) or we dive in without a plan and end up making things more awkward than they needed to be.

I've watched countless managers tie themselves in knots over conversations that, with the right approach, could've been sorted in fifteen minutes. The difference isn't about being naturally brave or having some special talent - it's about having a framework that actually works and knowing how to prepare properly.

In this training, you'll learn how to tackle those conversations you've been avoiding. We're talking about real workplace scenarios - giving feedback to someone who gets defensive, addressing poor performance without crushing someone's spirit, managing difficult conversations training situations where emotions run high, and dealing with team conflicts that are affecting everyone's productivity.

You'll discover how to set the right tone from the start, what to say when someone gets upset or angry, and how to keep the conversation focused on solutions rather than blame. We'll cover how to prepare mentally (because half the battle is in your head), what body language actually helps vs. hurts, and how to follow up afterwards so things don't just slide back to how they were.

What You'll Learn:
- How to plan difficult conversations so you're not winging it
- The exact words and phrases that help people stay calm and receptive
- Ways to handle emotional reactions without getting flustered yourself
- How to give feedback that actually leads to change
- Techniques for staying confident when someone pushes back
- What to do when conversations go off the rails
- How to address team conflicts without taking sides
- Strategies for following up that stick

You'll also learn how to read the room better - knowing when someone's ready to listen and when you need to take a different approach. We'll practice with real scenarios so you're not just learning theory, you're building muscle memory for when you're actually in these situations.

Available in Brisbane. Also available as mediation training for one-on-one sessions.

The Bottom Line:
Stop letting difficult conversations control your stress levels and impact your effectiveness. With the right approach, these situations become just another part of managing people well. You'll walk away feeling confident about addressing issues head-on, which means problems get solved faster and your working relationships actually improve rather than deteriorate.