About this Online Workshop Series

OMSSA is pleased to offer workshops that assist with making difficult conversations easier, and that enhance your communication and listening skills. 

New for 2023, OMSSA has bundled these three-workshops together to help individuals build a strong foundation for communication.

Workshop 1: Making Difficult Conversations Easier

The basic building block of all communication is the conversation. What, when, how and why we hold a conversation can have a profound impact on achieving our desired results.

But when the stakes are high, emotions run strong, or opinions conflict, we label these conversations as difficult. Whether we face difficult conversations with coworkers, clients, friends or family, invariably the same fear and apprehension comes over us the fear of failure or making matters worse.

During this workshop, we will explore the construct, traps and pitfalls of difficult conversations, why they may go wrong and how to approach, plan and execute them in a more successful manner, using practical tips, tools and real-world examples.

By the conclusion, fear and apprehension of that difficult conversation will transform into confidence and encouragement.

Learning Objectives

• Overcome barriers and turn conversations from difficult to collaborative
• Explore the structure of conversations and how they can either snare you or release you from "conflict traps"
• Become aware of conflict styles, personalities and emotions, and how each hinders or help conversations
• Learn effective and practical communication tools, including:
• Avoiding communication "blockers"
• First words to use
• Agreeing vs. acknowledging
• Framing and asking good questions
• When to be empathetic, and when to be assertive
• Learn a simple yet powerful four-step technique to aid in having better and more collaborative conversations

Workshop 2: Improve Your Listening with the 4-Step Empathy Loop

One secret about making difficult conversations easier is being able to gain insight into the perceptions, perspective and interests of the other person.  To do this it is essential to ask good questions and be an effective listener.

During the foundational workshop Making Difficult Conversations Easier participants were introduced to a simple yet effective 4-step Empathy Loop that can make anyone an expert listener.  Armed with this specific skill one can more effectively build better human connections and collaborative relationships.

While learning about the skill is one thing.  Having the opportunity to practice it and gain expert feedback is something more.

Learning Objectives

• Repeatedly practice the 4-step listening loop of understanding in a safe, confidential and controlled environment
• Get guided feedback directly from the workshop’s instructor for improvement
• Test variations to determine what works and what doesn’t based on the participant’s own personal style
• Experiment with how looping might be useful across a variety of real-world situations

Workshop 3: Resolving Difficult Conversations

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:

• How best to prepare for a difficult conversation,
• Additional conversation tools that can be used to move the conversation to positive results
• A multi-faceted questioning technique that zeroes in on the core areas where the causes of the conflict and impasse lie
• 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.

Learning Objectives

• Properly prepare for a difficult conversation
• Develop greater questioning skills by examining the root causes of behavior (including broken promises) using a model that contains six sources of influence
  • Learn more advanced, effective and practical communication tools, including:
  • Managing the angry person
  • Delivering bad news
  • Making it safe to talk
  • Understanding unconscious bias
  • Tone, volume and cadence
  • Unpacking the importance of the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
  • Summarizing and Paraphrasing
  • Futurizing
  • Reframing
  • Reality testing
• Learn a comprehensive step-based process known as the Resolution Pathway that ties everything together from the foundational and advanced workshops
• Practice skills using real-world case scenarios