Critical Conversations

Course Description:

Most communication breakdowns in companies and organizations are the result of on-going problems people either don’t confront or confronted without success. Who we are, our life experiences, and our expectations of others all contribute to our avoidance of or missteps during these conversations.

This two-day workshop is designed to help you identify how your interpersonal needs and life experiences contribute to your communication style with others when facing conflict. You will learn how to improve relationships with others by confronting these on-going problems in a way that you can safely talk about problems you face with others despite high emotions, high stakes and differences of opinions.

Key objectives:

Understand how interpersonal needs and life experiences contribute to how we communicate

Identify the right problem to discuss and decide if and how to deal with it

Take charge of emotions

Describe the problem in a way that sets the right tone for everything that follows

Diagnose the source of the problem

Help others become motivated to choose the right behavior

Help others identify and remove barriers to changing behavior

Deal with interruptions and side issues that come up during conversations

Determine whether or not the problem is completely resolved

Set clear action plans and follow-up methods