Communication
Difficult Conversations
Prepare for, open and survive the conversation you have been postponing.
The business challenge
Why organizations ask for this.
The conversation postponed is the problem compounded. Managers avoid it because they have no structure, and every week of delay makes the conversation harder and the outcome worse.
Approach & methodology
How the programme actually runs.
2 modules · 5 weeks · Face-to-face, practice-heavy
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Mindset
The mindset for a one-to-one where the message is unwelcome.
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Preparing the conversation
Preparing the conversation rather than the script: outcome, evidence, and the line you will not cross.
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Opening without triggering defence
The first ninety seconds, and how most conversations are lost in them.
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Staying in it
Non-violent communication principles; managing your own emotion when the temperature rises; handling the reactions you did not expect.
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Closing with an agreement
Ending with a specific, mutual commitment rather than a vague understanding.
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Practice
Simulations on the participants' own postponed conversations.
Competencies built
What participants can do afterwards.
Emotional intelligence
Manage the temperature of the conversation, including your own.
Assertiveness
Open with the real subject instead of circling it for ten minutes.
Empathy
Leave the other person their dignity, whatever the outcome.
Negotiation
Find the path forward once the difficult part has been said.
Feedback delivery
Bring evidence, not accumulated grievance.
Expected business outcomes
What the organization should see.
Improved ability to manage tension constructively
Stronger relationships built on trust
Reduced team friction and turnover
Schedule & format
Practical details.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Managers and leaders.
2 modules · 5 weeks. The rhythm is deliberate: modules are spaced so participants apply the behaviour at work between sessions.
Face-to-face, practice-heavy. We adapt the mix to your geography and shift patterns.
Yes, and it always is. We start with two to three individual conversations with selected participants, then rebuild the cases, the language and the practice situations from your business.
Kirkpatrick levels one to four: reaction, knowledge, self-assessed behaviour, and the participant's manager assessing the same competencies. We agree the target behaviours with the sponsor before design starts.
Digital missions and buddy work on PROMOTE, with the participant's own manager involved. This is the difference between 15–20% and 60–80% transfer into practice.
Yes. We also deliver in French across our Western European and African operations.
Related programmes
Others in Communication.
Storytelling in Public Speaking
Structure, story and presence, so the message survives the room and gets repeated afterwards.
PCM: Process Communication Model
A certified model for reading personality in real time. According to PCM, the process of communication (how we say something) is the differentiating factor in whether what we say lands at all.
Feedback
Feedback that is specific, timely and survivable, for both people in the room. Built on SBI and the feedforward mindset.
Start a conversation
Book a strategic discussion about Difficult Conversations.
If you are evaluating how to build capability that actually changes the way your organization works, we can help you define the right starting point, cohort design and delivery sequence.
The first conversation is diagnostic. We discuss your context, priorities, maturity, and where capability building can create measurable leverage.