Differences or conflict between people emerge because of their actions or behaviour. The people involved may be managers, direct reports, colleagues or others and the behaviour may be aggression, lack of co-operation, negativity, unreasonableness etc. This one day course will give participants skills and strategies for dealing with difficult behaviour and conflict at work, while at the same time giving valuable insights into their own behaviour and how it can affect others.

Who should attend

Anyone who wants to gain some insight into why people behave in challenging ways and learn strategies for dealing with difficult behaviour in a professional and confident manner.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

•Demonstrate greater self-awareness, skills and confidence when dealing with difficult people
•Recognise different People Styles and know when and how to ‘flex’ own style
•Evaluate different options for dealing with difficult people and choose best one
•Use a range of assertiveness techniques for dealing with different situations
•Apply the principles of Transactional Analysis to improve interpersonal communication

Course Content

•Defining what ‘difficult’ means to different people and being wary of ‘labels’
•Possible causes and effects of difficult behaviour
•Assessing own abilities and effectiveness at dealing with difficult people
•Considering Karpman’s Drama Triangle
•Exploring People Styles and how clashes can come about
•Awareness of own triggers and responses
•Options for dealing with conflict along with pros and cons
•Seeing issues from the other person’s perspective
•The art of self-control and avoiding escalation of the problem
•Essential steps when faced with having difficult conversations
•Using assertiveness techniques to defuse aggression and gain co-operation
•How to give constructive feedback relating to behaviour
•Introduction to Transactional Analysis (TA)
•Practical exercises and mini case studies relating to difficult ‘types’ and situations
•Personal action notes