Dread-Free Difficult Conversations: Speak Up with Courage
What you'll learn
- Prepare for your difficult conversations
- Overcome the common fears that keep you from having the conversation
- Manage anxiety about the conversation before, during, and after
- Keep your people-pleasing habits in check
- Make sure your passion and direct style isn't being interpreted as aggressive
- Integrate assertiveness skills to crisply articulate your message so it's heard
- Get crystal clear on what you want to say and who you're saying it to
- Discover frameworks to have hard conversations with a peer, your manager, a report or a friend
- Handle manipulation and very difficult people
Requirements
- Be ready with an example of a hard conversation you plan to have or have had
Description
You know the feeling: you have something difficult you want to say to a colleague or friend. But you’re worried about how they’ll react, figure, “Why rock the boat?,” and talk yourself out of it. You attempt to ignore it, but of course, nothing changes, and you find yourself dwelling on what it is you want to tell them. You want to keep the peace and avoid a conflict, so again, you stay quiet. You try to let it go to avoid an uncomfortable conversation, but that discomfort just stays with you.
My aim in creating this course was to teach you to be able to speak up when it really matters no matter how uncomfortable that idea seems to you now. The benefits of being able to do this far outweigh the discomfort, I promise. You may have trouble speaking up when you disagree, struggle to give difficult feedback to a report, need to shape the way your manager manages you, or figure out how to say “no” to what a stakeholder wants you to do.
Most people shy away from these types of tough conversations, because they don’t have the skills to approach them in a way that makes them feel safe. They may downplay the impact not having the conversation is having on their self-esteem but also the sheer amount of time they spend thinking about the unresolved issue.
I’ve been teaching and coaching people on this subject for over two decades and have worked with my clients on it across industries, jobs levels and cultures. I’d like to give you all of my own hard-earned tools to help you tackle your difficult conversations and develop the muscle that will only grow stronger with practice.
In this course, you will:
Learn why having difficult conversations is so important
Tame your anxious thinking around speaking up
Speak assertively (not passively or aggressively) to get the best outcome from your conversation
Prepare your message by understanding the other person’s point of view and finding common ground
Tackle those tough conversations, whether with a peer, manager, direct report, or friend
Deal with manipulation when passive-aggression is at play
The course is full of practical tips, examples and exercises you can build on one step at a time along with invitations to put what you’re learning into practice, immediately.
There are no prerequisites to taking this course. If the title pulled you in, then this course is for you. Please join me in this course!
Who this course is for:
- Less experienced managers working in a corporate setting who need guidance on giving difficult feedback to their direct reports
- Entry to mid-level individual contributors looking to improve the way they assert themselves in the workplace
- HR or Learning & Development professionals who want frameworks to guide employees on having difficult conversations
Course content
- Preview04:58
- Preview04:02
- 02:37Exercise: Identify Your Difficult Conversations
Instructor
![Andrea Wedell](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 128 Reviews
- 455 Students
- 1 Course
I Help Established And Emerging Professionals Become Powerful Advocates For Themselves, Their Careers And The Organizations They Work For.
For more than twenty years, I’ve had the privilege of helping thousands of executive leaders and entrepreneurs get clarity on what’s most meaningful to them. I’ve coached them to take bold, purposeful action to fast-track their success. And, perhaps most importantly, I’ve helped them become powerful advocates for themselves inside and outside of the workplace.
My passion lies in coaching you towards your true potential, helping you uncover what is most rewarding to you, finding that thing that makes you feel truly on purpose. I help you develop a direct and clear roadmap to success as you define it, through heart-centered, laser-sharp coaching.
Whether you’re an executive leader, an aspiring entrepreneur, or a business owner, I know that you want your professional contribution to have meaning and that you want to use the best of yourself and your skills. I know you need financial security and also want to impact your world and our collective world. You were born to do that. I know it, you feel it. You probably strive for autonomy over your career and your life. I also know that you want to cultivate the relationships, skills, and mindset to level up.
I’m here to help you get there.
In my two decades as a certified Executive Coach, ACSTH Life Coach, DISC, and 360Reach Assessment certified coach, I’ve advised HR teams on executive coaching programs and designed and facilitated team effectiveness off-sites. I’ve coached leaders as they took on roles with increasing responsibility and learned to navigate politically-charged environments.
Prior to working in the San Francisco Bay Area, I co-founded and ran a leadership development firm in Paris, France for fifteen years. I designed and led action learning training programs to culturally diverse audiences in both French and English.
My international experience gives me an ability to drop into any individual, team or corporate culture and immediately assess the dynamics at play, my client’s pain point and opportunities for growth. I hit the ground running at the start of every engagement.
My individual coaching clients have experienced results in the form of promotions, successful career pivots to the work they’re designed for and love, success with their start-ups, high performing teams that are singled out for their excellence. My corporate clients have earned millions of additional dollars by retaining key talent, and gaining more inspired leadership.
In my 20+ years of coaching experience, I’ve worked with talented leaders at top-tier companies across the globe, including Google, , Dropbox, Cisco, Opower, Uber, Thumbtack, Kaiser Permanente, Prologis, Airbus, Hermès, Apple France, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, JP Morgan, The Boston Consulting Group, Clarins, and Thierry Muggler.
Today, I currently run two successful businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve not only helped countless professionals achieve their greatest visions for their careers and businesses but I’ve also done it for myself, and I’m confident I can do the same for you. My demonstrated international expertise in executive coaching, leadership coaching, and team building makes me poised to meet you where you are and to know what it will take to move to where you want to be.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in theater. Since then, I’ve leveraged my experience to teach theater skills to people and help them become powerful and influential communicators.
I continued my education in communication and personal development extensively through retreats and seminars in Europe. In 2004, I became a certified coach through Coach Academy and earned my certification in DISC and Reach 360 assessment. I’ve also got a degree in graphic design (proud art nerd here!) with the American University in Paris. I completed a Laser Coach Training Program with Marion Franklin, MCC in 2013.
In addition to my continued education in communication, and mindfulness, I also work as a visual artist. When I’m not working with clients, you can find me painting in my studio, exhibiting my artwork, and enjoying the many natural wonders of my native San Francisco Bay Area.