Change Academy
Training Courses
Training Services Public Training Programme Leadership and Personal Development Systems and Office Applications Project Management
About Contact Podcast

Handling Challenging Conversations

Learn the skills, knowledge and have the confidence to tackle difficult conversations in a productive way.

Enquire Now

Course overview

Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours)

Do you worry about how to give negative feedback or deal with performance issues? Are you concerned about giving bad news? This workshop is designed to give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle these scenarios in a productive way.

If you are a people manager, team leader or supervisor looking to make those challenging conversations less stressful and more effective, this workshop is for you.

Lots of practical sessions will ensure you have the opportunity to relate your learning to your real life work situations. 

Objectives 

By the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Deal with a wide range of challenging conversations
  • Describe the preferred behavioural style for giving feedback
  • State the most appropriate influencing technique to use in your situations
  • Explain how to give successful constructive feedback

Content

What are challenging conversations

  • What type of challenging conversations occur?
  •  Why do we find them challenging?

Communication 

  • Practical exercise to demonstrate and act as a refresher of the fundamentals of communication
  • Barriers to communication especially in a difficult discussion
Choosing the right behavioural style
  • Refresher of assertiveness and why it is important in this context
  • Practical exercise demonstrating how behaviour breeds behaviour, and the impact of choosing an inappropriate style
  • Steps to using assertive behaviour

Influencing

  • Cialdini’s model for influence
  • How to use influencing techniques in handling challenging conversations
  • Practical application

Feedback 

  • Understanding feedback – positive vs. negative
  • Using the ABCBC model for feedback
  • Using the basics of emotional intelligence to give effective feedback
  • Practical application

Testimonials

“I definitely would recommend this course. Emma-Jane was very engaging, full of knowledge and gave us great examples how to deal with challenging conversations. She was interested in any ideas that we have or issues we are trying to deal with and was very supportive and gave us great advice. I feel like I have learned a lot and I'm very grateful for this opportunity.” 

Katarina Riskova, Vetting Officer, Gatwick Airport

“Yes, well paced, fun and informative with practical solutions and tips to have those challenging conversations. A really good training session. Nice mix of practical and slides too. Loved the sheets to complete to help guide. Emma-Jane was full of energy and enthusiastic which was infectious. Probably the best course on feedback and challenging conversations I have been on over the many years.” 

Lynnie Foster, Data Protection Officer, Gatwick Airport LTD

“Yes, it gives a good oversight of how to handle difficult conversations. The course was well structured and delivered at a good pace, with a really good mix of presentation, discussion and interactive activities. Understanding the structure of the conversation and expected outcomes was really valuable. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Emma-Jane was very knowledgeable and engaging.”

Paddy O’Reilly, Aviation Security Trainer, Gatwick Airport Ltd

Frequently Asked Questions

Get in Touch

Still have questions about this course?

Click Enquire Now and our team will share full details on content, dates, and pricing — and help you decide if it’s the right fit for you or your organisation.

Enquire Now

Related Courses

Influencing and Decision Making

Gain practical skills in influencing and decision-making, perfect for anyone working in team-based or project-focused environments, with interactive, hands-on learning.

View the course outline
Turning Conflict into Collaboration

Understand how to effectively manage conflict and learn that conflict can be healthy and need not damage relationships.

View the course outline
Assertiveness and Influencing

Learn the skills of being more confident and assertive in the workplace plus be able to influence people to do the things you would like them to do. 

View the course outline

Explore More Training Options

Public Training Programme

Explore our current selection of public courses, available as convenient and cost-effective virtual sessions.

Engage with expert instructors and a diverse peer group in an interactive, online learning environment.

Ideal for those valuing flexibility and affordability, our public courses are ideal where you only have small numbers requiring training and offer training from the comfort of your home or office.

Check Public Dates

Full Training Catalogue

We deliver a wide range of training across Leadership, Personal Development, Project Management, and IT applications. Many organisations choose us because they can source both technical and people-focused training from one trusted provider.

Courses can be tailored to your organisation’s needs, making it easier to upskill teams consistently across different areas. Whether you want to build management capability, strengthen project delivery, or boost everyday software skills, you’ll find relevant options in our catalogue.

View our Leadership and Personal Development Course Catalogue
View our Systems and Office Applications Course Catalogue
View our Project Management Course Catalogue