INTRODUCTION

A difficult conversation is anything we find difficult to talk about. They are conversations that are awkward and make us feel vulnerable. They are conversations we would rather avoid. But they are part of life, and we can’t go too far without having them. While we can’t prevent them, we can at least learn how to handle them much better. In this activity, from the ‘Challenging Conversations’ series, the participants will discuss what a difficult conversation is to them.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-face (ILT)

DURATION (ESTIMATED)

• 15 – 20 minutes

SUITABLE FOR…

• …a bite-sized training activity on its own or used as part of a wider course on managing difficult or challenging conversations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

By the end of this activity, participants would have:

• reflected on what a difficult conversation means to them personally.

WORKBOOK

• Yes (the participants must have the workbook before the activity starts)

PREPARATION

• Make sure you read through all the resources, so you understand how they work together to deliver the session.

PREREQUISITES

• None

Read more

INTRODUCTION

A difficult conversation is anything we find difficult to talk about. They are conversations that are awkward and make us feel vulnerable. They are conversations we would rather avoid. But they are part of life, and we can’t go too far without having them. While we can’t prevent them, we can at least learn how to handle them much better. In this activity, from the ‘Challenging Conversations’ series, the participants will discuss what a difficult conversation is to them.

DELIVERY MODE

• Virtual (VILT)

DURATION (ESTIMATED)

• 15 – 20 minutes

SUITABLE FOR…

• …a bite-sized training activity on its own or used as part of a wider course on managing difficult or challenging conversations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

By the end of this activity, participants would have:

• reflected on what a difficult conversation means to them personally.

WORKBOOK

• Yes (the participants must have the workbook before the activity starts)

PREPARATION

• Make sure you read through all the resources, so you understand how they work together to deliver the session.

PREREQUISITES

• None

INTRODUCE AND FACILITATE THE ACTIVITY

Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.

SLIDE – LEARNING OBJECTIVE

After displaying the slide, tell them that:

• From time to time, we must all deal with difficult conversations. These are the type of conversations that we would rather avoid.
• But they are a part of life, and we can’t go far without navigating through conversations that challenge us.
• In this activity, we will explore what difficult conversations are to each of us personally.
• We don’t all view difficult conversations the same way. Let’s discuss what difficult conversations mean to us personally. (Stop sharing the slide)

Then tell them that:

• You are going to discuss two questions in pairs.
• Turn to the part of your workbook titled – WHAT IS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION TO YOU?
• The task you will do in pairs is there.

WORKBOOK CONTENT – WHAT IS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION TO YOU?

Use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to put them into pairs.

Allow them to do the activity for 6-minutes.

When their time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.

Next, tell each person to write their answers from the discussion into the chat window.

Also, tell them that, in addition to writing their own answer they should read what others have written too to get a view of what they consider to be a difficult conversation.

After a maximum of 5-minutes, stop them and ask them for any comments or insights they have from what they’ve just done.

Listen to any comments or insights they have and thank them. Then let them know that you also have a few things to share with them about difficult conversations.

Display the slide titled – ABOUT DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS.

SLIDE – ABOUT DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

Information will be displayed on the slide automatically. Let them read it for about 2-minutes.

(Stop displaying the slide)

Next, ask if they have any comments or questions and respond appropriately to any they have.

Then move on to review the activity by telling them that:

• In this activity, our goal was to explore what difficult conversations mean to us.
• You discussed in pairs your own perspective of what a difficult conversation is and shared your views with us through chat.
• I also shared some things about difficult conversations with you.

After that, end the activity.

This is the end of the activity.