Difficult conversations
Prepare and hold conversations you'd rather avoid: specific examples, a clear purpose, listening for the other side, handling reactions, agreeing a change and following up.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 45 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Prepare a difficult conversation with a purpose, specific examples and the impact
- Open the conversation clearly and keep it on behaviour, not character
- Respond to common reactions (defensiveness, upset, silence, counter-complaints) calmly
- Agree specific actions, record them factually, follow up, and recognize when a matter must go to HR
Course outline
- 1.Difficult conversationsVideo · 2 min
- 2.Preparing for a difficult conversationLesson · 15 min
- 3.Holding the conversationLesson · 16 min
- 4.After the conversationLesson · 14 min
- 5.Difficult conversations: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 22 questions
- 6.Difficult conversations: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.The email tone conversationScenario
- 8.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- General people-leadership practice for difficult conversations (specific, behaviour-based feedback; listening; agreeing actions)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.