DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE

Managing Conflict Through Effective Communication

Program overview:

We often have to deal with difficult people in our professional environment and sometimes in our personal everyday life. Any interaction or communication with such people can prove challenging and consumes a lot of our time and energy. Such situations can easily turn emotional and unproductive with long term effects on relationships. In these circumstances, we need to know how to deal with each individual according to their behaviour and habits while staying cool and maintaining our own emotional composure.

This workshop is designed to provide participants with valuable tools and strategies for resolving any kind of conflict through open communication. By the end of the program, participants will have the skills to handle conflict situations with confidence and achieve more positive outcomes.

The program is individualized through the Conflict Style Profile (CSP). The CSP is a confidential self-report questionnaire that provides staff with an individualized analysis of their preferred conflict management style as well as the back-up styles one tends to use in conflict situations. It also includes an in depth explanation of how these styles tend to either be productive or unproductive and ideas on how to make positive changes when handling conflict.

Prior to the workshop, each participant completes the CSP and returns the questionnaire to the office of the program director. The data is then compiled and analyzed to create a report for each participant and customize the learning activities for the workshop based on the spread of profiles.

 Learning Objectives:

 Through self-discovery and increased awareness, participants will be able to:

• Identify the characteristics associated with difficult people and the origin of their behaviour

• Use the right mental attitude when confronting others to minimise the effect of difficult encounters

• Recognize the five main conflict resolution styles and be prepared to deal with any of them

• Handle other people’s emotions without becoming defensive or taking sides

• Listen and respond emphatically and connect when needed with others

• Identify toxic statements, phrases, gestures and attitudes that can significantly affect conversations and relationships with other people 

• Give and receive criticism and deal with unfair or unwarranted criticism

• Understand how taking responsibility differs from accepting blame

• Improve strategic decisioin making

Training methodology: A multimodal approach combining didactic and experiential exercises

Number of sessions:  The program is divided into two separate half-day sessions, separated by one week

Time frame options:  Option A:  8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.     Option B:  13:30 p.m. – 17:30 p.m.

Number of participants:  15 – 20 people

Program cost:  CHF 2000.-

Includes: Personalized Conflict Style Profile report, workshop training manual and “Power Break” CD audio recording for all participants registered in the program.