PREMIUM Workshop: Navigating Difficult Conversations and Conflict

At some point in your studies, your work or your personal life, you will have to say something that is difficult to say. Perhaps you disagree with someone, need to address behaviour that is bothering you, give uncomfortable feedback, or speak up when something does not feel right. These conversations can be challenging precisely because the outcome matters to you.

This workshop focuses on the conversation itself: what happens when emotions run high, perspectives differ and you feel tempted to avoid, accommodate, attack or shut down. You will explore your own responses to tension and learn how to stay constructive when a conversation becomes uncomfortable.

Through practical exercises and realistic scenarios, you will practice expressing your perspective clearly, listening without immediately becoming defensive, managing emotional reactions and finding ways forward when you do not agree. The aim is not to avoid difficult conversations, win an argument or make everyone happy. It is to become more confident in staying in the conversation when things get difficult.

Because difficult conversations are not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes, they are exactly where better understanding, stronger collaboration and new ideas begin.

There may be some natural overlap with the PREMIUM workshop on "managing the client relationship", particularly around communication styles when situations become challenging. However, the two workshops approach these situations from different perspectives. While the client-management workshop focuses on building and managing a professional relationship over the course of a project, this workshop takes a deeper look at what happens when you are actually in a difficult conversation. Taking both workshops therefore gives you the opportunity to develop complementary skills: managing the relationship as a whole and navigating the moments when that relationship is tested.