Target group

Managers, customer service representatives, consultants, sales specialists, support specialists, educators, and emergency centre workers.

Objectives

To master techniques for handling conflicts and creating a positive service experience. To ensure a good customer experience even in the case of issues or when dealing with challenging colleagues/clients. To prevent burnout in client interactions.

Topics covered

• A Small Wake-Up Exercise

We experience that people do not always act rationally. This is influenced by their biological “baggage,” including defensive behaviours and emotion-driven responses. Where are the main risk areas that lead to opposition? Defending personal territory, fear of being overpowered or humiliated, fear of appearing foolish, a desire for recognition and importance, etc. The “us vs. them” mentality as a natural human behavioral pattern. Investing in the beginning of contact – preventing a catastrophe so that the other party does not become defensive/aggressive and can actively engage. How to defuse conflict early in the process and create a sense of safety.

• Managing Contact (Case Analysis, Group Work)

Contact framework. A communication interaction is much like a flight: disasters most often occur at the beginning and the end. Investing in the start of the contact pays off significantly. Conversely, mistakes made here are amplified and have a 20-fold impact on everything that follows. We will create a contact management framework that will serve as a guide and “cheat sheet” going forward. The framework will include questions, phrases, and technical techniques to help move the other party from an emotional state to a rational phase. We will explore our opportunities to take control of the situation while making the other party feel valued. We will discuss how to prepare the partner for the challenges of the interaction. Handling a talkative client. Avoiding the “bait” offered by an irritated counterpart. Establishing our position by highlighting what we do for the client. Contact management techniques: explaining what we are doing, asking questions, offering choices. Managing the continuation of contact, even in cases of conflict. Examples of applying the framework in practice (logistics companies, banks, and insurance claims handling).

• Conflict First Aid: Techniques (Roleplay, Analysis, Articulation)

We will work through a challenging scenario where an immediate solution is not available. What constitutes help in such situations? What does a client in a difficult situation or conflict need? Explanation? Guidance? Empathy? Information? We can ask the “affected party” how they perceive, for instance, an explanation.

We will also examine the five stages of coping with loss or bad news: denial, anger, bargaining, apathy, and acceptance.

Conflict First Aid: About 10 Techniques for the Emotional Phase

We will explore what actions are meaningful during the first four stages of the emotional phase. Note: Our natural reactions are not helpful in these situations. What helps us is relying on techniques we have learned and practiced. Key nonverbal cues for a conflict resolver include tone of voice, speech tempo, and breathing.

• Practice (Role-Playing, Case Resolution)

We practice the techniques learned. We resolve real-life scenarios gathered during preparatory work and diagnostics. The same situation is played out in two scenarios: a) responding naturally (likely leading to conflict escalation); b) applying the learned techniques. What happened to the emotions of the role players? Even in a simulated scenario, in the case of a), strong confrontational emotions emerge when reacting naturally, whereas in the case of b), we experience that one cannot fight if no one fights back. We evaluate the solutions, reinforce the learned techniques, and document them in our contact management framework.

• Assertiveness (Techniques, Experimentation)

Assertiveness in managing contact. We translate certain situations and phrases into assertive communication. Speak in the first person, state what you are doing, ask questions, and offer choices. Guiding contact beyond a “No” or disappointment is always part of our role. Since the client does not know our options and rules – what directions are even possible – if we merely respond to the client's questions, we risk being led “from one ditch to another.” Instead, ask questions and offer choices rather than making assumptions, statements, or commands. Commenting on third parties using assertiveness means avoiding potential pitfalls.

• Explaining and Guiding Over the Phone (Pair Exercise, Group Work)

We simulate a phone call to observe, in real time, what actually happens in the listener’s mind. How much, if anything, of our message gets through, especially when frustration is involved? Selective hearing. Assumptions vs reality. Noise and barriers. We revisit the 5 key rules to ensure our message is received effectively: “The Big Picture,” scale, terminology, dialogue, and interim summaries. The potential for disaster at the end of contact: our responsibility is to rephrase and confirm with the client whether they understood what we expect from them to proceed with the solution.