Difficult Conversations with Vulnerable People in a Professional Context

*This Law Society Skillnet discount is applicable to all practicing solicitors working in the private sector. (The standard fee for this course is €176). 

Numbers on this workshop are limited to 15 participants

Aims and Objectives:
This course is open to all persons working in the legal services sector. The aim of this course is to provide participants with the skills necessary to impart bad news to clients and others. The training is thus about how to manage a difficult conversation with others, particularly those who are vulnerable. 

Topics covered:
What is your preferred conflict-handling style?

• Participants complete the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Indicator
• What is your preference: Competing, Avoiding, Compromising, Collaborating, Accommodating?
• How to use all of the different conflict-handling styles, depending on the merits of the circumstances
• Tips and techniques: how to be assertive (rather than aggressive or passive) when dealing with others, particularly vulnerable clients

Listening and showing empathy

• How to deal effectively with vulnerable others
• Looking interested, inquiring with questions, staying on target
• Testing your understanding, evaluating the message, neutralising your feelings
• Effective body language: mirroring and matching to show empathy
• Being empathetic on the telephone and also in video calls as well as face-to-face meetings

Role plays: Implementing the skills of the training

• Participants are placed in situations where they have difficult news to impart
• They are asked to impart the news in role play format
• Mutual feedback: what went well and what might have gone better
• Learning points for optimal conveying of difficult messages

Remaining resilient when delivering difficult news

• Looking after yourself – effective stress management
• Preparing yourself for the delivery of a difficult message
• Action planning: conducting difficult conversations with vulnerable clients

Learning outcomes
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

• Describe their own preferred conflict-handling style as a result of the completion of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Indicator
• State techniques to be assertive (but not aggressive or passive)
• Describe how to listen to others and to show empathy
• Identify how to be empathetic in terms of body language (in face-to-face meetings or virtual calls) and the voice (in telephone calls)
• Describe learning points from role plays in which they have been practising the skills
• List ways to remain resilient and to look after oneself, when having to impart difficult news to others (without suffering too much oneself)
• Describe an action plan as a result of the training

IMPORTANT

• This is an in-person event and will not be available online or as a recording.
• Attendance at our in-person events are tracked and logged for CPD compliance purposes. This information will be shared with the Law Society CPD Scheme at their request.
• Participants must attend both days in order to avail of the CPD hours on offer and receive the full benefits of the course.
• For CPD 2023 information see https://www.lawsociety.ie/Solicitors/Practising/CPD-Scheme
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• For further information, please view the Brochure
• If you have technical or other queries, contact a member of the team on: lawsocietyskillnet@lawsociety.ie

*This Law Society Skillnet discount is applicable to all practicing solicitors working in the private sector.