Dealing with Difficult and Uncomfortable Conversations
Target Audience – People Managers & Team Leaders, who:
Have responsibility for performance reviews, conflict resolution, or behavioural feedback
Often face sensitive topics like underperformance, interpersonal tension, or change resistance
Need to maintain trust while delivering tough messages
HR Professionals & Business Partners, who:
Frequently navigate emotionally charged conversations (e.g. grievances, redundancies,mediation)
Need to balance empathy with policy and professionalism
Project Managers & Cross-Functional Leads, who:
Manage stakeholders with competing priorities or difficult personalities
Are often required to challenge assumptions or push back diplomatically
Course Aim
This course is designed to improve leaders and managers confidence, skills and abilities to plan for, manage and navigate difficult or uncomfortable conversations.
Course Content
Pre-meeting planning and preparation (i.e. meeting location, format, timing, style, proxemics, impact factors, tone etc)
Conversation management structures and techniques
The benefits of a structured decision-making model
Understanding the Fight, Flight and Freeze response
Understanding how attitudes affect behaviour (aka the Betari’s box model)
Mediation and de-escalation techniques
The conflict continuum and spotting the early signs of escalation and potential for verbal or physical conflict
Clarifying your goal: What outcome are you aiming for?
Reflecting on your own motivational values, emotions and biases
Understanding Emotional intelligence
Anticipating the other person’s perspective and potential reactions
Individual Benefits
Greater Emotional Intelligence – Builds self-awareness, empathy, tact and emotional regulation, which are key traits for effective managers
Improved Confidence & Communication – Equips individuals to speak with structure, clarity, assertiveness, and respect, even in high-stakes situations
Reduced Stress & Avoidance – Replaces anxiety and procrastination with proactive dialogue and resolution
Career Growth & Influence – Leaders who handle tough conversations well, are seen as trustworthy, decisive, and promotable
Prepares delegates by giving them the psychological robustness to handle the toughest of conversations
Stronger Relationships – Honest conversations foster deeper trust and mutual respect across teams and peers
Provides a scalable framework to deliver feedback, deal with conflict or set boundaries
Organisational Benefits
Enhanced Culture of Transparency – Open dialogue enhances communication flows, reduces ambiguity, confusion, and resentment, creating psychological safety and mutual respect
Higher Engagement & Retention – Employees who are treated fairly, feel heard and respected, are more likely to stay and contribute meaningfully
Improved Performance & Accountability – Clear expectations and timely feedback drive performance and results
Faster Conflict Resolution – Issues are addressed early, preventing escalation and costly disruptions
Better Change Management – Leaders who communicate with empathy and clarity, reduce resistance and build buy-in during transitions
