This workshop is the advanced version of OMSSA's popular foundational workshop, Making Difficult Conversations Easier. To get the most out of this workshop, it is critical that learners first complete the foundational workshop.
During the foundational workshop, we examined what makes conversations difficult, why they occur and how to manage them. We outlined and practiced the key skills of de-escalating angry emotions, empathetic listening and asking good questions to unpack and focus on interests instead of positions. In addition, we explored the proper sequencing of the conversation along with how best to be both empathetic and assertive.
Now, in this advanced workshop, we will pick up where we left off and discover:
Participants will also walk along the Resolution Pathway, a robust and comprehensive step-based process that ties everything together from start to finish and, if followed, is guaranteed to lead to a positive conclusion and relationship.
NOTE: This is an interactive, virtual training session, which is different from a webinar. Participants will be expected to participate through voice and video, and to engage with each other and the facilitator in large and small group discussions, to learn from each other and practice skill development.
This workshop is well-suited for any human services professional
It is essential that participants first complete OMSSA's foundational workshop, Making Difficult Conversations Easier
Three, two-hour sessions over the course of one week
Session Dates and Registration
February 16-18, 2021
Part 1: Tuesday, February 16 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 2: Wednesday, February 17 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 3: Thursday, February 18 | 10:00-12:00
March 24-26, 2021
Part 1: Wednesday, March 24 | 1:00-3:00
- Part 2: Thursday, March 25 | 1:00-3:00
- Part 3: Friday, March 26 | 1:00-3:00
May 18-20, 2021
- Part 1: Tuesday, May 18 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 2: Wednesday, May 19 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 3: Thursday, May 20 | 10:00-12:00
October 12-14, 2021
Part 1: Tuesday, October 12 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 2: Wednesday, October 13 | 10:00-12:00
- Part 3: Thursday, October 14 | 10:00-12:00
Pricing
Members: $180 + HST
Non-Members: $235 + HST
Technical Requirements
OMSSA will be hosting this virtual training using Zoom, an online, interactive training platform that you can join straight from your web browser, or by downloading 'Zoom Client for Meetings' on your computer or tablet.
Participants will be expected to join the session via both video and audio. Participants should therefore have access to a desktop computer, laptop computer or tablet with:
a webcam or built-in camera
a built-in microphone or a headphone jack where you can plug in a headset or earphones
We strongly recommend that participants use a headset or earphones with a built-in microphone in order to limit background noise.
System requirements: Click here for more detailed information on system requirements from Zoom.
Sharad Kerur has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Master of Industrial Relations from Queen's University, with a focus on negotiation theory and alternative dispute resolution methods.
For over 30 years, Sharad held senior level positions in the union and association sectors. His most recent position was Executive Director of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA), Canada's largest non-profit housing association. As a result, he has a strong grasp on the business of non-profit organizations and associations, and real-world experience in negotiation and mediation.
Sharad is Harvard-trained, having obtained a Certificate in Mediating Disputes and a Certificate in Negotiating Difficult Conversations from the Harvard Negotiation Institute (Harvard Law School) and also holds a Certificate in Dispute Resolution and an Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution, both from the York University in Toronto.
Sharad has a Q.Med (Qualified Mediator) designation from the ADR Institute of Canada and is also a Certified Workplace Fairness Analyst accredited by the Workplace Fairness Institute of Canada. He has also obtained a Certificate in Civil Procedures for Non-Lawyer Mediators from the ADR Institute of Ontario.
He is currently on the Community Mediation Roster and Associate Mediation Roster with St. Stephen's Community House (Conflict & Training), where he also serves as an instructor in their mediation and conflict resolution training programs. He has been a guest lecturer for Humber College's Alternative Dispute Resolution program and he serves as a Dispute Resolution Educator, coach and instructor for York University's continuing education program in dispute resolution.
More recently, Sharad developed and now leads his own consultancy firm known as Resolution Pathways, which assists people and organizations to resolve conflicts.
With his knowledge, expertise, and experience, Sharad currently provides: