This course will help you prepare and conduct difficult conversations with your staff, or possibly even your boss! The course is distilled from the experience of the presenter, Sarah Lewis, in helping and training leaders and managers in many different situations plan and prepare for such conversations. It offers a comprehensive framework for preparing for a courageous conversation through to conducting the conversation and how to follow them up. It explains how, by attending to both the relational aspects of the conversation, as well as the behaviour at hand, you can substantially increase the likelihood of having a successful and productive meeting.

The course looks at two sub-categories of courageous conversation in more detail, that of correcting procedural errors, and that of repairing damage caused by poor communication or poor relationships. Beyond that, the course offers useful ways of thinking about preparing for any difficult conversation.

The course recognises that the very thought of having a courageous conversation with someone can raise anxiety levels, and that such anxiety is not helpful to the conversation. To help with this challenge, the course spends some time helping you work through exercises that will help lower your anxiety and create a more useful mental state from which to approach the conversation.

The pathway that is presented, from preparation to post meeting follow up, is supported by a preparation model and three specific areas of positive psychology research. You should come away from the course feeling that you have a route map for preparing and conducting a courageous conversation that is supported by both research and practical experience. You should also feel that you now have the confidence to enter your next courageous conversation equipped to create the best opportunity for a successful outcome.