Courses/Communication/Difficult Conversations at Work: Skills for Managers and Leaders
Difficult Conversations at Work: Skills for Managers and Leaders
A one-day training course on handling difficult workplace conversations
Overview
A one-day course for managers and team leaders on planning, leading, and recovering difficult workplace conversations. Participants work through a three-step filter for deciding when to speak, the Plan, Speak, Guide framework for structuring the conversation, and techniques for handling defensiveness and repairing trust. Trainers can deliver it as supplied, add their own logo, or edit any document to fit their context.
Format. One day (about 7 hours including breaks). Designed for classroom delivery and adaptable to live online sessions.
Who it is for. Team leaders, supervisors, mid-level managers, HR professionals, and senior staff responsible for giving feedback, addressing performance issues, or managing conflict while preserving working relationships.
What delegates take away
- Recognize what makes conversations difficult and the cost of avoiding them.
- Decide whether and when to initiate a difficult conversation using a three-step filter.
- Plan and lead a difficult conversation using the Plan, Speak, Guide framework.
- Communicate assertively, balancing clarity with care and respect.
- Recover when a conversation goes off track, handling defensiveness and repairing trust.
Course outline
Explores why some conversations feel difficult, where they show up at work, why people avoid them, what avoidance costs, and the benefits of engaging.
A three-step filter for deciding whether and when to speak: what requires a conversation, whether the timing is right, and why you are having it.
The Plan, Speak, Guide framework: prepare before speaking, open with clarity, describe behavior and impact objectively, invite perspective, and close with clear agreements.
Assertive versus passive and aggressive communication, tone and presence, choosing language that keeps the other person on board, and tailoring delivery to audience and context.
Handling defensiveness without backing down, responding when it feels personal, owning poor wording, following up, and repairing trust after tense interactions.
A closing reflection in which each participant plans a real conversation they need to have, including their opening and their response if it becomes challenging.
What is in the kit
Slide deck
51 editable PowerPoint slides with speaker notes
Trainer notes
88-page facilitator guide with slide-by-slide delivery notes, suggested wording, activity instructions, and a session design overview
MIZAN Edition field guide
Updated research with sources, two GCC-context case studies, three new activities, an AI-era section and a 30-day transfer plan
Participant workbook
Editable workbook with prompts and space for notes and activities
Handouts
Seven activity handouts, including a trainer answer sheet for the Rewrite for Clarity and Care exercise
Certificates
Four templates: attendance certificates in digital-signature and printable-signature formats, plus a CPD completion template and completed example
Feedback form
End-of-course participant feedback form
Sign-in sheet
Attendance sign-in sheet for course records
Online delivery guide
Guidance for running the course over videoconferencing platforms such as MS Teams or Zoom
Pre-course preparation guide
Trainer orientation covering pack contents, the trainer-notes color coding, and how to prepare printed materials
Dual formats
Every document supplied in both editable Word/PowerPoint and PDF versions
Editions
The license in one sentence
Buy once, deliver the course as often as you like to as many delegates as you like, edit anything, add your own branding — you only may not resell or redistribute the materials themselves. Every download is stamped with your name, tier and order number. Full license terms
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