Conflict Resolution: Dealing with Difficult People

We can get into a routine where it feels like everyone we speak with is either having a bad day, or we are having a bad day ourselves. We feel like we constantly meet people who seem to be inconsiderate, stubborn, incorrigible, indecent, miserable, or passive-aggressive. Sometimes we can be equally awkward ourselves. While it might seem that the easiest remedy is to lock yourself up at home and avoid people, we eventually have to pick up the phone or step outside and have an interaction with somebody.

Success in dealing with conflict comes from understanding how we behave, as well as how we can influence others. If we approach difficulties as needing to take place in one or a series of conversations, and we approach those conversations with a plan, we will find that we have less difficult people to deal with. More often than not, we will also have more meaningful and significant conversations. In this two-days workshop, you will teach participants how to turn difficult situations into opportunities for growth.

• Recognize how your own attitudes and actions impact others.
• Find new and effective techniques for dealing with difficult people.
• Learn some techniques for managing and dealing with anger.
• Develop coping strategies for dealing with difficult people and difficult situations.

We will spend the first part of the day getting to know other participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

This lecture will help participants define conflict. Participants will also explore how conflict is a very normal part of healthy relationships. To wrap up the session, they will complete a self-assessment to help them analyze how they currently handle conflict and how they might be able to improve.

This session will give participants a framework for deciding whether or not to become involved in a situation. Participants will also identify some benefits that may arise if they do decide to get involved.

There are several key ways that we can prevent problems from occurring. These methods will be examined in a lecture and in small group work.

If, as leaders, we are content to only deal with the surface issues, and we are afraid to dig and get at the deeper issues, we will not create a better workplace. This session will give participants some ways to get to the heart of a problem.

Too many people are angry! This session will give participants some guidelines for managing their anger, dealing with angry people, and using assertive anger.

In this session, participants will work in small groups to explore eight ways of dealing with problems.

During this session, we will look at a three-step process that can help participants resolve conflict. Participants will also have an opportunity to apply the model to a difficult situation.

In this session, participants will role play a difficult situation using the scenario from their pre-assignment.

Earlier we discussed how our attitudes and actions impact others. In this session, we will take a deeper look at how negative attitudes can cause negative interactions, and what we can do to turn those attitudes around.

There are a million possible answers to this question, but we will discuss the ten most common reasons.

To wrap up the workshop, we will share six de-stressing techniques that participants can use when things get difficult.

At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.