BECOME ADEPT AT DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

Difficult conversations happen all the time when you work with youth, their families, and other involved agencies.  Youth intervention workers are faced with challenging conversations such as discussions with parents about behavior and development or confrontations with peers about their behaviors.  If you have never received training or desire better training on how to make difficult conversations turn out positive, this is your chance.

This online course provides you a powerful toolbox that can be utilized when needed.  You will learn practical techniques and the principles have been proven to be effective and apply broadly.  This course sheds light on why our most challenging dialogs are so tricky by identifying the three stories within each difficult conversation. You will learn to transform difficult conversations into learning conversations and how to talk about what matters most including ethical discussions, parent meetings, and advocacy.

Meet Your Instructor (back by popular demand):

Joshua Koepp, an experienced online instructor has 17 years of professional experience serving children, youth and families in School Age Care programs, YMCA family camps and faith communities including 7 years as a program supervisor. He is a certified parent coach, a Minnesota School Age Care Association certified trainer, and has achieved the master trainer level with the Minnesota Center for Professional Development.  As a consultant for the Center for Inclusive Child Care helps providers successfully include children with special needs. Joshua currently teaches classes at Minneapolis Community and Technical College for the Child Development, Education, and First Year Student Transition departments. He has taught continuing education courses for Concordia University St. Paul since 1994. Mastery and professionalism are his personal goals as well as his goals for learners.

Course Objectives:

• List difficult conversations that are common with families, agencies, children, colleagues and other stakeholders in your work.
• Recognize how the three conversations (what happened, feelings, and identity) are present in the above conversations.
• Apply the intent vs. impact principle and the influence of perception.
• Explain the significance of different information, values, attention, certainty, and curiosity in understanding other’s stories.
• Apply strategies for sorting out misunderstandings and gathering useful information to a “what happened” conversation.
• List the four emotional clusters that are present in the feelings conversation.
• Calculate the difference in payoff between considering and using emotional data vs. ignoring, rationalizing, or stuffing emotional data.
• Prepare a personalized process you can use to manage your emotions effectively in difficult conversations.
• Define the “Three Core Identities” and the role they play in the identity conversation.
• List identity factors that are sensitive are personal sensitive spots.
• List identity factors that can be sensitive spots for families, agencies, children, colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Select strategies for addressing the identity conversations and the personal baggage we bring with us and write about how they work for you.
• Describe how other’s identity can influence what we see from them during a difficult conversation.
• Describe how assuming dualism (right vs. wrong, win vs. lose) affects our identity and prevents collaboration, cooperation, and problem solving.
• Determine when it is appropriate to have a conversation and when it is appropriate to let go of a conversation.
• Outline a conversation and write it from the perspective of a learning conversation.
• Apply techniques to transform a difficult conversation into a learning conversation.

Course Logistics:

• The Required Text for this course is Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher (Buy Online for $9)
• Chat Room Dates: April 3, 10, 17, 24 and May 1, 2012 8:00pm - 8:45pm
• Capacity:  Limited to 15 registrants
• Learning Objective:  See Course Syllabus
• CEUs:  Approved by: MN Board of Social Work (16.0), MN Board of Marriage and Family Therapy (16), MN POST (16.0), MN Board of School Administrators (16.0), and MN Board of Psychology (16.0).
• Cost:  $129 for non-YIPA members, $99 for YIPA Members, $59 for Promise Fellows
• Registration:  Online