Managing Difficult Conversations

Managing Difficult Conversations

Free, 3 hour, interactive workshop

Monday 9^th March, 10am to 1pm, over Zoom

 

At every level it feels as though our societies are increasingly fractured.  At the national, community and individual levels we observe division, blame and dehumanisation.  The ability to fully hear and demonstrate our intention to understand each other is urgently needed, yet very few of us feel confident in navigating heated discussions.  This session would explore tools and approaches to help participants navigate conversations where there is deep disagreement, and potentially high emotion.  We will consider ways of supporting us to better hear each other and stay in connection, while authentically expressing our positions and beliefs.

 

The session will explore tools and approaches that we can use in conversation, as well as the sort of facilitation techniques that can support group work over challenging topics.

The session will be facilitated by Sam Tedcastle, Director and Senior Practitioner from the Centre for Good Relations (https://centreforgoodrelations.com/) and Jamie Spurway, Religious Equalities Training Officer for Interfaith Scotland (www.interfaithscotland.org).  Sam has over twenty five years of experience in dialogue facilitation and conflict resolution across the United Kingdom. More recent projects have focused on applying civic meditation to build relationships around environmental issues and developing the role of mediative interventions for marches, parades, protests and demonstrations.  Jamie has been facilitating discussions around discrimination, prejudice and inequality for over fifteen years.  In 2024 he co-facilitated a series of dialogues with Christian, Muslim and Jewish participants over the impact of the situation in the Middle East on community relations in Scotland.

 

Learning outcomes:

1. Understand common causes of breakdowns in relationship during disagreements
2. Demonstrate improved confidence in approaching and managing difficult conversations
3. Explore and apply a range of tools for supporting understanding despite deep disagreement

Booking

To register to attend the workshop please complete this google form – https://forms.gle/bTjhzKSu4Twr9pfb7