Having Difficult Conversations

Conflict is inevitable—in work and in life. Managers must address performance issues, and colleagues with competing priorities must figure out how to work together. These situations call for having difficult conversations. In this course, Marlene Chism explains how to have difficult conversations, build your communication skills, and improve your relationships, teamwork, and business performance. She explains how to identify underlying differences in work styles, goals, and power dynamics and change the way you view conflict. She provides a model to move the conversation in a positive direction and to determine next steps. Plus, learn how to check for resistance with a single useful phrase.

Learning objectives
Cite the circumstances that can make a conversation difficult.
Recall what you should know before having a difficult conversation.
Summarize how to control the direction of a conversation.
Describe how to use radical listening to stay present in a conversation.
Name the magic phrase to test for resistance.
Name healthy habits you can develop to make difficult conversations easier.