conflict resolution in difficult situations
15 Years of Praise
6 cornerstone benefits
2 Day Training Agenda
Your American Facilitator
How’s it’s Different
Whether you’re trying to manage negativity, complaints and arguments, angry customers, moody colleagues, overbearing associates, manipulative personalities or uncooperative people, navigating conflict and dealing with difficult people is perennially detrimental to departmental or organizational objectives.
As Communications Instructor at the prestigious Wharton Business School in the United States, Deborah Riegel Grayson will be in Singapore for just two days where you will learn critical strategies, proven techniques and practical mindset shifts necessary to navigate challenging conversations and resolve difficult situations with confidence and skill.
6 Cornerstone Benefits
1 Day - 6 Cornerstone benefits
Enhanced Communication Skills: Learning to handle difficult people empowers you with advanced communication skills, enabling you to express yourself assertively, listen actively, and resolve conflicts amicably.
Conflict Resolution: Gain practical insights into addressing conflicts and disagreements constructively. Discover techniques for defusing tense situations and finding common ground, ultimately fostering more harmonious relationships.
Stress Reduction: Interacting with challenging individuals can be stressful. By acquiring tools to manage your emotions and respond thoughtfully, you’ll reduce stress and emotional exhaustion associated with difficult conversations.
Personal Growth: Dealing with difficult people requires self-awareness and self-regulation. This program encourages personal growth by promoting empathy, patience, and adaptability in the face of adversity.
Professional Advancement: In the workplace, conflicts and difficult personalities are unavoidable. Mastering these interactions positions you as a problem solver and team player, leading to better job performance and advancement opportunities.
Effective Leadership: Leaders must navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. Learning to address difficult individuals enhances your leadership abilities by fostering an environment of open communication and mutual respect.
2 Day Training Agenda
Training Day 1
SESSION 1: UNDERSTANDING DIFFICULT PEOPLE & CAUSES OF CONFLICT
Activity: Discussion – What is a common conflict you face at work? And who is my “difficult person”?
· What do we mean by “conflict”?
· The differences between productive conflict, unproductive conflict, and destructive conflict
· Why does conflict occur?
Activity: Communication Style Assessment: Participants will identify their own communication preferences and styles. We will discuss how different communication styles can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts with certain individuals. And then participants will apply their understanding of self and others to their common conflicts and difficult people.
SESSION 2 : 5 SKILLS FOR MANAGING DIFFICULT PEOPLE AND NAVIGATING CONFLICT
SKILL 1: Mindset Management
· Activity: “I think, I feel, I do…” will help participants understand the connection between thinking, feeling,
and actions.
· Mindsets that keep us quiet in the face of conflict
· Mindsets that can help us self-advocate in the face of conflict
· How to adopt an “acceptance mindset” when you can’t change the person or the situation
· Managing your own stress in the face of conflict
SKILL 2: Active Listening
· Activity: Listening to Respond/React/Defend vs Listening to Learn
· Assessment: Barriers to Listening: What gets in YOUR way of really hearing other people?
· 3 steps to active listening
· Activity: Active Listening Exercise: Pair participants and have one person share a personal experience
involving a difficult interaction. The other person’s task is to practice active listening without offering any advice or
solutions. Afterward, switch roles and discuss the experience.
SKILL 3: Demonstrating Empathy
· Three kinds of empathy: Cognitive, Emotional, Behavioral
· Activity: Participants will be provided with a list of challenging traits or behaviors. Ask them to select one
trait and write down a personal experience in which they exhibited a similar behavior, reflecting on the emotions
and motivations behind it. Then, have participants share their stories in pairs to foster empathy and
understanding for difficult individuals.
· Activity: Empathetic conversations practice.
Training Day 2
SESSION 3 : 5 SKILLS FOR MANAGING DIFFICULT PEOPLE AND NAVIGATING CONFLICT (Continued)
SKILL 4: Asking Clean Questions
· The impact of clean questions vs. closed questions on interpersonal relationships
· What makes a question “clean”?
· Activity: Practicing clean vs closed questions in a group scenario, and then in pairs with feedback.
SKILL 5: Setting and Communicating Boundaries
· The difference between healthy and unhealthy boundaries.
· The positive outcomes of setting boundaries (such as increased self-respect, reduced stress, and
improved relationships)
· 4 types of Boundaries: physical, emotional, mental, and digital
· Activity: Participants will go through a self-reflection activity to identify situations or relationships where
setting boundaries is challenging and then share their insights with a partner. Participants will also list their core
values and discuss how these values influence their boundaries.
· Elements of effective boundary-setting: clarity, assertiveness, consistency, and consequences.
· How to be clear in what you’re asking for and why using I statements
· How to be assertive in expressing boundaries confidently and respectfully.
· How to be consistent using the “broken record” technique
· How to communicate consequences without guilt, aggressiveness or manipulation
· Group Activity: Participants work in groups to create and present scenarios demonstrating assertive
boundary-setting using “I” statements.
Session 4 : Four Difficult Conversations to Prepare for and Practice
· Conversation 1: “I have a request.”
· Conversation 2: “I made a mistake.”
· Conversation 3: “I have bad news.”
· Conversation 4: “This conversation isn’t going well.”
· Activity: Practicing the four conversations.
Session 5 : My plan of action for future development
· Review knowledge and skills you have learned
· Develop an action plan for your development in the future
· Get feedback from a special group
Your American Facilitator
Deborah is an instructor of Management Communication at the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, and
partners with both Columbia Business School and Duke Corporate Education as a speaker and coach for their custom
leadership development programs. She also serves as a Visiting Professor of Executive Communications at the Beijing
International MBA Program at Peking University, China, where she prepares senior leaders from around the world to present more effectively (in both their native and non-native languages) in a growing global marketplace.
As a regular columnist on leadership and communication for Harvard Business Review, Inc. and Psychology Today, she
focuses on sharing practical, research-based approaches to common presentation and communication challenges, ranging from how to handle a presentation to a difficult boss to how to think on your feet. She has also been a featured expert and a contributor The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fox Business
Network, and American Express OPEN Small Business Forum.
Her broad range of clients range include Amazon, Bloomberg, Comcast, and Google to Kraft, Pfizer, Universal
Music, and The United States Army. She is also the author of books, including “Go to Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask for, and Accept Help”, “Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life”
and “Tips of the Tongue: The Nonnative English Speaker’s Guide to Mastering Public Speaking.” She is also a contributing author to the Harvard Business Review Emotional Intelligence book series.
Deborah holds a BA in Psychology from University of Michigan, and an MSW from Columbia University.
She combines her background in cognitive and social psychology, leadership coaching, presentation skills, appreciative inquiry, and, perhaps most importantly, improvisational and stand-up comedy, to help leaders and teams think on their feet and make thoughtful decisions about their impact.
The Trainer will be flown to Singapore from the United States for 1 week in April 2024 to deliver this class