Are you avoiding conversations you know will be hard?
Learn how to tackle tough talks with more ease...
an essential skillset every leader needs!
Dealing with Difficult Discussions
Regional 2-day clinics On-location in...
Townsville March 25-26
Mackay April 16-17
Rockhampton April 18-19
Brisbane May 2-3
Cairns May 14-15
Toowoomba May 23-24
Hervey Bay June 3-4
Also available Live Online - April 10, 17, 24 & May 1
4 x 3-hr Sessions - 9.30-12.30pm each day AEST
“Really valuable! Very clear, practical strategies, tools and practice activities presented in an engaging, well-paced way. Bill made the whole experience enjoyable, entertaining, enlightening and safe and his self-coaching guide that goes with the course is top rate.” Brian Harris - Director Housing & Homelessness
What Difficult Discussions have you been putting off?
Most of us go out of our way to avoid difficult discussions and other unpleasant conflict situations. It’s a universal human tendency. Contemplating a confrontation with someone who gets over-emotional, irrational, loud, abusive, bullying or goes to tears and recrimination, is enough to put most of us off. And then there’s still the other person we have to deal with!
Does avoidance really pay?
How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you really should talk to someone about something that’s annoying you, but your concern about how they may react – or fear that the conflict may escalate and spiral out of control – stopped you?
♦ Deep down, you know if you keep avoiding this conversation, you'll feel frustrated and your feelings of resentment will start to fester.
♦ On the other hand – you worry that if you do confront them, it will turn into a major argument; or that your intentions will be misunderstood.
For the sake of short-term comfort, we too often give up on long-term improvements.
Difficult conversations that remain unresolved, strain, poison or even kill-off relationships. While you’re worried that if you do confront it, it will turn into a major argument or falling-out, deep down, you know if you keep avoiding, you'll feel frustrated, resentment and detachment will follow – and the relationship will suffer anyway.
The choice is simple: Either we can avoid difficult discussions entirely, keep on handling them poorly or work on handling them well… [ Read more... ]
It’s the latter that our Dealing with Difficult Discussions clinics help you do better....
Decide to get on top of the discussions you dread
Face up to conversational challenges & stay calm, cool and collected
Learn how our unique roadmap & tools can help you convert destructive confrontation into constructive conversation
“Well worth attending. As a supervisor, it was beneficial for me to reflect on my own role in how to raise difficult issues with staff and reach amicable resolutions. Learning real, practical and proven tools relevant to ‘real life’, often stressful situations was very empowering... I’m glad I attended.” Hamish T. Reef HQ
Handling yourself well in confronting situations is a challenge most of us want to be better at!
Dealing with Difficult Discussions delves into what’s really going on when talks get tense.
♦ It shows you how to avoid those talk traps that just make everything worse when faced with confrontation
♦ It helps you to test out ways to take some of the heat out when tempers rise and talk turns toxic
♦ And it helps you resolve differences mindfully, using a unique 7-Stage roadmap and easy-to-apply conversation tools that can really make a difference in most challenging conversational situations you face.
Don’t let contentious conversations immobilise you at work!
Let go of resistance, relieve your tension and reclaim your time by facing up to those difficult discussions… and increase your chances of achieving more constructive outcomes with our simple-to-use discussion tools and proven process!
Topics we cover in this vital clinic will help you:
Decipher dynamics of difficult discussions and use these to help structure your talks
Learn how to cope more confidently with uncomfortable conversations
Identify common mistakes we make when talks get tough and how to avoid them
Deal with disruptive emotions and stay calm, collected and controlled
Discover ways to defuse difficult moments and handle hostility
Face up to feelings and use them constructively
Start difficult discussions without raising so much defensiveness
No role plays… Just real tools practise using real-life scenarios and some of your own test-cases!
Take-away self-directed guidebook to help you practise tools and approaches back at work
"This clinic has given me some great strategies and tools to use to be able to feel more confident entering into a tough conversation. It was quite hands on and practical - and the self-coaching guide book is an excellent resource... It's made me self -reflect and definitely think-out what I need to say and how I’m going to say it. In particular the words I’m going to use to start. Thank you so much again for the two days. I found them so valuable and have learned a great deal."
Wendy Y, Head of Curriculum, Mt Isa
Building Better Leaders & Teams
Build a robust conversation culture in your workplace
Arrange an In-house Clinic for your whole team
Arrange for us to run this well-regarded program in-house with your leader group ot teams to encourage everyone to share a common language, approach and set of tools that seriously raises the bar on cooling conflict at your place!
Prefer a more personal touch – one-on-one?
Talk to us about Individual Coaching to focus your learning or target specific leadership issues
Individual coaching around conversations or any leadership aspect you’d like to focus on
0429-687 513 Bill Cropper
Your Facilitator - a brief Introduction...
Bill Cropper
Director - The Change Forum
Bill is principal consultant and founding director of The Change Forum. He has a wealth of practical experience as a consultant, coach and facilitator working with leaders and teams of all levels on strategic change, culture revitalisation, leadership learning, group facilitation and teamworking. His work centres on helping workplaces build the capacities they need to create constructive, connective cultures and more vibrant, productive, high-performing teams.
Bill has a particular interest in the benefits of conversational mastery, emotional intelligence and mindfulness to create connective and compassionate workplaces, promote productive, open interchanges and facilitate personal growth and change mastery. Over more than 18 years, he’s delivered scores of Dealing with Difficult Discussions and other Conversational Coaching Clinics publicly and in-house for a wide range of organisations including health, education, housing, justice, environment, roads, local government and community services.
Bill's Dealing with Difficult Discussions clinic springs from a long history of working with individuals and groups on positive communication and participative work practices while also coaching leaders to handle hard talks and constructively confront challenging performance. And it harks back to research and consulting work he did on positive team performance management for The Australian Productivity Council.
Bill’s been a preferred learning, change and leadership provider for many federal, state and local government agencies and is known for his practical, engaging and interactive style of facilitating. He also creates his own models and frameworks that keynote his programs and produces his own down-to-earth self-coaching guides, toolkits and workbooks to accompany his programs.
"It's always a pleasure to attend your programs Bill. Your knowledge of your field is outstanding as are your guidebooks which provide such a useful follow-up resource. The programs you provide are relevant and applicable to all levels of leadership in any organisation or profession and always supported by a strong research base.” Dr Lyn Bishop Principal Sheldon College.
"I really enjoy your style of facilitation Bill. It's a well-balanced mix of theory, practical and humour in a relaxed atmosphere, which makes learning much easier when it is fun! I gained more strategies, techniques and tools to further raise my self-awareness and emotional intelligence." Mickey Polkinghorne - Disability Services Queensland
Practical, down-to-earth, safe & relevant
All our clinics are practical, challenging and stimulating. Those who’ve been along to other Change Forum programs know that Bill takes a down-to-earth approach and creates a relaxed, engaging, safe and fun environment for learning.
Here’s 5 reasons to choose a Change Forum session...
Solid learning in a safe, small group environment
Practical tools & frameworks for back-at-work action
Down-to-earth, hands-on and relevant
Comprehensive, easy-to-follow self-coaching guidebooks
Serious fun and fantastic facilitation
Cost & Registration
Register On-line >>>
Course Fees 2024...
Click buttons above for current SPECIALS
2-days Live On-Location:
General registration per person...................$990
Early registration fee.......................$924
Not-for-Profit Organisations & Schools.....$891
Early registration fee........................$847
Variations to discounts may apply
See Registration page for EASTER Specials
Live ONLINE
4 Session Fee for Everyone..........................$825
4 x 3-hrs = 12 hrs plus hard copy guide (by post)
In-House Clinics recommended for 10 or more
The fine print...
- All prices include GST...
- Payment due on registration - pay be Card or EFT (Stripe)
- Pay online or on invoice within 10 days & prior to attendance
- Fees are non-refundable but may be transferred to an alternative event up to 14 days prior
- Minimum numbers required at The Change Forum's discretion
- Venues: Centrally located venues advised on registration
- Social distancing & hygiene precautions observed at live venues
- Inclusions: Tuition, comprehensive self-coaching Guide (light lunch, refreshments at live clinics) intersession communiques, additional materials & slide-shares for on-line programs
- Timing - Workshops: Day 1: 9.00am-4.30pm Day 2: 8.30am-4.30pm
- Timing - ONLINE: 9.30am-12.30pm each Session (allow 3.5 hrs)
- NOTE: All registrants will be added to our mailing list for additional resources, information and updates. You may choose to unsubscribe, if preferred, any time after conclusion of the event.
Note: Please do not attend an in-person workshop if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the illness and you are required to self-isolate. If a substitute attendee cannot be arranged and a course transfer is not feasible, a fee refund will be provided.
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Coaching Clinics for Leaders & Teams
The Change Forum offers a variety of 1 and 2-day coaching clinics in selected regional centres and online.
- Visit our on-line Course Calendar from time-to-time for updates on what's coming up next
- See our Course Directory for our full range of leadership & team learning programs and services
- We offer individual Leadership Coaching in person & by phone
- All our Leadership and Team-building programs can be delivered In-house on request
- Contact us any time to talk about tailored learning, teambuilding, leadership and culture change services
0429-687 513 – Bill Cropper
Call, Email or Enquire On-line
All Change Forum programs available In-House