(Virtual Training) Difficult Conversations: Thinking on your feet when you’re in the pit of your stomach

If you’re engaging with the public, it’s inevitable that at some point you will encounter conversations that challenge you. They may be conversations you’re already thinking about with dread or concern, or situations you don’t even anticipate that blind side you in the moment. What do you do, how do you react, how do you pull these situations out of the fire and move forward productively? This course provides a frame for understanding why these situations exist, strategies to use and an opportunity to practice new ways.

In addition to the live, interactive training participants will also receive pre-session activities, self-assessments, a personal learning journal and additional learning resources.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a member of IAP2 Canada please log into the website (top right-hand corner) to register automatically at the member rate. International IAP2 members require a code to register. Please contact info@iap2canada.ca to obtain it.

This online course will be offered in two sessions - one, three hour session and one, two hour session.

— Cancellation policy —

Learning Objectives

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

• Recognize the importance of building positive relationships with their audiences

• Identify potential problems and opportunities when interacting with others
• Recognize when communication is breaking down
• Explain emotion, where it comes from and why it exists
• Identify what to do and what not to do in emotional situations
• Demonstrate improved competency in dealing effectively with difficult situations

COURSE OUTLINE

Trainer: Tannis Topolnisky, CP3

Tannis is a Certified Public Participation Professional, a licensed trainer of the IAP2 Foundations and Decision Makers courses and has been training engagement practitioners for 14 years. Her passion is in creating the space where people come together to make a difference in the individual, the organization, their relationships and beyond into programs, policies and decision making. She has experience in a wide diversity of projects where impacts on health, livelihood, relationships, well-being and community are most common. She has worked with organizations and on projects that have received national and international recognition of excellence, including IAP2 Canada and IAP2 International Core Values Awards.

“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” – Paulo Coelho