Handling difficult business conversations

Be confident in difficult conversations and ensure long-term sustainability of your business.

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WHERE & WHENDATESPRICE €EARLY BIRD PRICE €REGISTRATION
ONLINE

9:30 – 17:00 CET		Part 1: 8 Apr 2025
Part 2: 15 Apr 2025		300

from
22 Mar 2025		250

until
21 Mar 2025 23:59 CET		Register now

If you want to master the art of turning tense moments into productive dialogue—whether you’re facing frustrated customers, challenging supplier relationships, or concerned team members, you’ve come to the right place.

This practical training course has been developed for professionals who often have to deal with difficult communication situations under stressful or high-pressure circumstances. Through practical exercises and frameworks for difficult conversations, you’ll acquire the skills to handle such conversations with ease.

Our proven methodology combines a minimum of theory with a maximum of practice so that you leave the training with immediately applicable communication skills.

See some snippets from previous training and similar sessions:

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Feedforward

Ask-Tell-Ask-Tell Feedback

 

If you want to see more of our videos, click here.

NOTE: If you want a customized training just for your company online or on your premises, please contact us.

HANDLING DIFFICULT BUSINESS CONVERSATIONS

ABOUT THE TRAINING

WHO THIS TRAINING IS FOR

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND THIS TRAINING

MODULES

WHAT YOU WILL KNOW AFTER THE TRAINING

WHO YOU WILL
BECOME AFTER THE TRAINING

REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT


ABOUT THE TRAINING

As children we learn to talk but not to communicate, let alone in difficult situations such as communicating with angry customers or suppliers about late orders, dealing with complaints, delivering bad news or giving feedback to an employee, finding the right way to escalate and the like.

Here effective communication skills are more than necessary to rectify the situation and maintain good relationships via email, phone call, video meeting, or in-person conversation. Because good relationships are the basis for survival and long-term sustainability in this volatile, uncertain, and rather complex business world.

The unique thing about our training is that you’ll not only learn how to handle difficult conversations, but you’ll also develop two powerful, evolving tools that you can use company-wide as your strategic communication guidelines:

1. Your effective communication compass: A dynamic guidebook

Throughout the training, you’ll collaborate on a comprehensive communication guide that grows with your experience. This living document contains proven strategies, real-world insights and practical techniques for:

  • Understanding the psychology behind challenging interactions
  • Mastering active listening and empathy in difficult situations
  • Developing assertive communication skills that get results
  • Handling conflict confidently and professionally

2. Customizable response templates

With our templates for different challenging scenarios you’ll face in your role, you can easily handle difficult conversations. These templates serve as a professional communication framework to help you respond effectively, whether you’re faced with customer escalations, team conflict or stakeholder concerns.


Our unique approach combines intensive learning through role-play and case studies with these practical tools, ensuring you aren’t only trained, but equipped for long-term success. As you progress through each module, both resources continue to develop and become invaluable parts of your professional communication toolkit.

WHO THIS TRAINING IS FOR

This training is aimed at professionals who are often confronted with stressful or high-pressure situations, such as project managers, supply chain managers, team coordinators or executives, and all other professionals who want to feel confident in difficult conversations.


WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND THIS TRAINING

For busy business
people only.Your interests
at the forefront.Little theory and
lots of exercises.Immediately applicable solutions.Loads of knowledge in a short time.
Online or in
your premises.To build good relationships.Practice with your colleagues.Condensed knowledge.Saves time and money.

MODULES

The training consists of four modules, delivered in two sessions.
Each session will take place once a week, and lasts 7:30 hours including two short breaks and a lunch break in between:

In each module, you will receive a short theoretical framework and practical exercises. You will also be assigned practical exercises to work on between parts after each part.

You will receive a certificate of participation upon completion of all four modules.


List of modules


The content of each module

    I. GOLDEN RULES AND TOOLS FOR DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

This training module is designed to empower participants to lay the foundations for handling difficult conversations with confidence and finesse. Understanding the core reasons of why and how we think, act and behave is the starting point for dealing with upset and demanding persons.

In this module, you will learn how to:

  • ▪ Apply the golden rules of effective business communication in difficult circumstances
  • ▪ Understand the interplay of active listening, body language and tone
  • ▪ Understand key language and behavior mindsets in sticky situations
  • ▪ Handle upset and irate customer profile
  • ▪ Compose a professional email when responding to negativity
  • ▪ Respond to passive-aggressive and aggressive communicators effectively
  • ▪ Increase your social intelligence quotient


    II. DEALING WITH BAD NEWS AND CONFLICTS

This module equips you with the essential skills to handle bad news, complaints and conflicts effectively. You’ll learn proven techniques for delivering bad news with empathy and professionalism, while also exploring strategies for conflict prevention and de-escalation. We’ll also guide you on how to maintain composure under pressure through mindfulness and stress-management techniques, ensuring you can approach difficult situations with a clear mind and a calm demeanor.

In this module, you will learn how to:

  • ▪ Find the right escalation or de-escalation path
  • ▪ Leverage proactive updates, regular follow-ups, and follow-through
  • ▪ Deliver bad news and complaints effectively
  • ▪ Conduct a difficult phone call confidently
  • ▪ Apply strategies for conflict prevention
  • ▪ Use appropriate conflict management styles depending on the situation
  • ▪ Use breathing, mindfulness and grounding techniques
  • ▪ Increase your adversity quotient


    III. DEALING WITH DIFFICULT COMMUNICATORS

The module develops critical capabilities in managing high-stakes interactions, including advanced framing techniques that allow participants to reposition challenging dialogues constructively. Participants will master cognitive tools like the ladder of inference and accountability, enabling them to cut through communication ambiguity and avoid unproductive blame dynamics.

Emotional intelligence is a core focus, with targeted strategies for handling toxic communicators, delivering difficult feedback, and making measured decisions under pressure. The module ensures participants can confidently manage complex communication scenarios, turning potential conflicts into opportunities for meaningful dialogue and collaborative problem-solving.

In this module, you will learn how to:

  • ▪ CUse framing, pre-framing, and re-framing techniques with difficult communicators
  • ▪ Apply the ladder of inference tool to resolve ambiguity
  • ▪ Apply the ladder of accountability tool to avoid blaming
  • ▪ Avoid hasty decision making in sticky situations
  • ▪ Give difficult feedback to your co-workers
  • ▪ Deal with toxic and egocentric communicators
  • ▪ Increase your emotional intelligence quotient


    IV. ENHANCING YOUR DIFFICULT CONVERSATION TOOLBOX

Develop crucial strategies to foster a calm and productive atmosphere in meetings, ensuring smooth and efficient interactions. Master the art of intercultural communication, allowing you to seamlessly connect with colleagues and clients from diverse backgrounds. Finally, refine your understanding of key stakeholders’ communication personas within your organization to elevate both internal and external collaboration.

In this module, you will learn how to:

  • ▪ Apply strategies for defusing tension in a conversation
  • ▪ Appropriately behave and respond in difficult meetings
  • ▪ Cope with the challenges of cross-cultural meetings
  • ▪ Develop your professional communicator avatar
  • ▪ Systematically use communicator personas in your business
  • ▪ Increase your cultural intelligence quotient


WHAT YOU WILL KNOW AFTER THE TRAINING

You will know how to:

Handle difficult conversations with confidence and a clear mind

Effectively give and receive difficult feedback

Achieve a business objective using difficult conversation toolbox

Prepare for, participate in and lead difficult meetings

Deal with stressful situations properly

Manage interpersonal conflict effectively


WHO YOU WILL BECOME AFTER THE TRAINING

A better difficult conversation handler.

A better adversity handler.

A good conflict manager.

A more emotionally intelligent communicator.

A better communicator in general.


REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT

Please click here

to register for this training

Since the number of spots is limited, your spot cannot be guaranteed until payment for the training has been received.

Once we receive your registration, we will send you an invoice. This is on a first- come, first-served basis.

NOTE: If you would like a customized training just for your company, please contact us. Please read our Terms and Conditions as well as Client Satisfaction Guarantee.

CONFIDENTIALITY FIRST.
Protecting the confidentiality and business interests of our clients is at the forefront of all our business interactions. With the trust that this creates, we establish fruitful and lasting relationships with our clients.