Course Overview

Conflict in business is all too familiar—particularly under increased business pressures. Still, most of us lack basic conflict management skills. Rather than react to conflict on a purely emotional level, you can learn how to manage disputes and disagreements in a positive manner, or even avoid them altogether.This conflict management training course combines proven-by-practice methods with new insights and ideas that will grow your conflict management skills. You will gain a wider perspective through breakout sessions, exercises, and case applications.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the trainees will be aware and understanding of the following:

• Recognise the underlying causes of conflict
• Map conflict using a five-step approach
• Identify ways to develop flexible responses to personal and professional conflicts
• Practise applying models, techniques and strategies to manage your interpersonal communication behaviours in conflict situations
• Implement strategies to improve your communication and effectively respond to conflict

Who Should Attend?

Business professionals who want to expand their conflict management skills, understand their own emotions and behaviors, and find productive ways to manage conflict with influence, even when authority is lacking.

Course Contents

Module (01) Developing Conflict Awareness

• Recognising the difference between disagreement and conflict
• Understanding the five levels of a conflict
• Exploring barriers to conflict management and resolution

Module (02) Responding to Conflict 

• Identifying your own feelings and actions in response to conflict
• Applying the P-U-R-R Model to demonstrate understanding
• Utilising the validating process
• Distinguishing between listening for thoughts and listening for feelings

Module (03) The Role of Trust in Minimising Conflict

• Describing the 4 Cs as the cornerstones of building trust
• Knowing how trust is lost and regained, and how transparency validates trust
• Identifying interests behind positions

Module (04) Conflict Strategies

• Identifying your preferred strategies for responding to conflict
• Understanding the five conflict strategies
• Exploring appropriate strategies to minimise/manage conflict

Module (05) Moving Beyond Conflict

• Knowing why relationship conflict and content conflict should be handled differently
• Turning potential disagreements into discussion by applying the Model to Disagree
• Identifying and practising assertiveness tools and strategies
• Detoxifying emotional statements and devising alternative ways to express the message

Module (06) Dealing with Difficult Behavior

• Explaining the difference between difficult people and difficult behaviour
• Understanding how to handle passive behavior
• Developing a strategy for handling passive or aggressive behaviour

Module (07) Mapping the Conflict

• Mapping a conflict using a 5-step approach
• Exploring a given conflict from various “viewing points”
• Separating interests from positions in a specific conflict
• Selecting a conflict strategy appropriate to addressing a specific goal
• Implementing a chosen conflict strategy

Module (08) Thunderstorms

• Applying skills to address emotionally tense conflicts (called Thunderstorms)
• Using skills to address an intra-group conflict case study
• Planning for future development to effectively respond to conflict