Duration:

1 Day

Audience:

Employees of federal, state and local governments; and businesses working with the government.

Training Overview:

This course provides a framework and techniques to help develop actions when facing difficult conversations. Students will gain confidence in their ability to constructively address stressful situations. They will also assess their own conflict management styles and learn tools and techniques to reframe discussions to yield more productive outcomes.

Course Objectives:

  • Understand conflict and the sources of difficult conversations.
  • Identify what each of us brings to difficult interactions with others.
  • Consider what we can and cannot control in when faced with a difficult conversation.
  • Take an assessment to identify personal tendencies when managing conflict and learn how to expand approaches to resolving conflict successfully.
  • Use a framework for engaging in difficult conversations that results in better outcomes for all.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Outline

1 – PREWORK

  • Participants will be provided a link to take an online personal conflict management style assessment prior to class.

2 – Difficult Conversations and Conflict

  • Conflict defined
  • The role of conflict in difficult conversations
  • Types of conflict
  • Changing our view of conflict

3 – Contributions to Difficult Conversations

  • How we filter our conversations
  • Things we can and cannot control

4 – Conflict Management Styles

  • 5 Conflict management styles
  • Reviewing individual assessments

5 – MAI2 Framework for Difficult Conversations

  • MAI2 Framework overview
  • Review of each of the framework components
  • Benefits of MAI2 Framework
  • Practice using MAI2 Framework as a conflict management technique