Workshop Topics

Specialized training programs addressing the full spectrum of workplace conflict resolution and communication challenges

De-Escalation Techniques

Learn to recognize early warning signs of escalating tension and apply proven verbal and non-verbal strategies that reduce emotional intensity while maintaining productive dialogue. This workshop covers the neuroscience of threat responses, tactical communication patterns, body language awareness, and environmental management techniques.

Core Skills Covered

  • Identifying escalation triggers and early warning signs in workplace interactions
  • Applying tactical empathy and validation techniques that reduce defensiveness
  • Using strategic pausing, tone modulation, and pacing to calm heated exchanges
  • Managing your own physiological stress responses during tense conversations
  • Adapting de-escalation approaches based on personality types and conflict styles
  • Creating physical and psychological space when emotions run high

Who Should Attend

HR professionals who handle employee relations matters, team leaders managing interpersonal conflicts, managers who deliver difficult feedback, and anyone who regularly navigates emotionally charged workplace situations.

Structured Feedback Delivery

Develop comprehensive skills in preparing, framing, and delivering feedback that is clear, actionable, and received constructively rather than defensively. This workshop introduces multiple feedback frameworks, teaches conversation architecture, and provides extensive practice in handling common defensive reactions.

Core Skills Covered

  • Preparing feedback conversations with clear objectives and supporting examples
  • Using the SBI framework (Situation-Behavior-Impact) and other structured models
  • Balancing corrective feedback with developmental coaching approaches
  • Anticipating and responding to defensive reactions without escalating tension
  • Creating action plans and accountability structures following feedback conversations
  • Adapting feedback delivery to different cultural contexts and communication preferences

Who Should Attend

Managers at all levels, HR professionals involved in performance management, team leaders responsible for skill development, and anyone who finds feedback conversations uncomfortable or ineffective.

Difficult Conversation Frameworks

Master systematic approaches for addressing sensitive topics, delivering unwelcome news, discussing performance concerns, and navigating conversations that most people avoid. This workshop teaches multiple conversation frameworks and provides decision-making tools for choosing appropriate approaches based on context and relationship dynamics.

Core Skills Covered

  • Preparing mentally and emotionally for challenging workplace discussions
  • Opening difficult conversations with clarity and appropriate framing
  • Using the DESC model (Describe-Express-Specify-Consequences) for assertive communication
  • Navigating conversations about hygiene, behavior, performance, and interpersonal conflicts
  • Managing silence, tears, anger, and other emotional responses during difficult talks
  • Closing conversations with clear next steps and maintaining relationships afterward

Who Should Attend

Leaders who postpone necessary conversations due to discomfort, HR professionals handling sensitive employee matters, managers dealing with performance issues, and team leaders navigating interpersonal tensions.

Building Psychologically Safe Environments

Explore the research-backed conditions that enable team members to speak up, take interpersonal risks, admit mistakes, and engage in productive conflict. This workshop covers specific leadership behaviors, team norms, and organizational structures that foster psychological safety in Canadian workplace contexts.

Core Skills Covered

  • Understanding the research foundation of psychological safety and its organizational impact
  • Assessing current levels of psychological safety within your team or organization
  • Modeling vulnerability and fallibility as a leader to normalize risk-taking
  • Designing team norms and agreements that support open dialogue
  • Responding constructively to mistakes, failures, and dissenting opinions
  • Facilitating team discussions about communication patterns and safety concerns

Who Should Attend

Team leaders building new groups, managers noticing communication problems or lack of candor, HR professionals designing culture initiatives, and senior leaders committed to creating environments where people feel genuinely heard.

Team Mediation Facilitation

Learn to facilitate conversations between team members in conflict, create neutral space for dialogue, and guide groups toward mutually acceptable resolutions. This workshop teaches structured mediation processes adapted for workplace contexts, including preparation, session management, and follow-up strategies.

Core Skills Covered

  • Assessing when facilitated mediation is appropriate versus other intervention approaches
  • Preparing parties individually before bringing them together for dialogue
  • Establishing ground rules and creating psychologically safe conversation containers
  • Using active listening, reframing, and summarizing to support mutual understanding
  • Managing power imbalances and ensuring both parties have equal voice
  • Guiding parties toward concrete agreements and accountability structures

Who Should Attend

HR professionals who facilitate workplace conflict resolution, team leaders managing interpersonal tensions, managers responsible for multiple direct reports with relationship challenges, and organizational development practitioners.

Emotional Regulation for Leaders

Understand the neuroscience of emotional responses and practice techniques for managing your own reactions during challenging workplace interactions. This workshop explores the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, teaching practical strategies for maintaining composure and clarity under pressure.

Core Skills Covered

  • Understanding the neurobiology of stress, anger, and anxiety responses
  • Recognizing your personal triggers and early warning signs of emotional reactivity
  • Applying cognitive reframing techniques to shift perspective during conflicts
  • Using breathing, grounding, and mindfulness practices for in-the-moment regulation
  • Developing recovery strategies for after difficult interactions
  • Building long-term emotional resilience through self-care and reflection practices

Who Should Attend

Leaders who find themselves becoming defensive or reactive in conflicts, managers dealing with high-stress workplace environments, HR professionals experiencing compassion fatigue, and anyone seeking to improve their emotional self-management.

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