How do we respond when someone we’re trying to talk to is agitated?  For some, any sign of conflict makes our emotions spike and we might react in ways we might later regret. For others, we might want to crawl into a very deep hole. It’s especially difficult when want to help, but feel too overwhelmed or overpowered by the force of someone else’s anger to even know where to start.

In this interactive workshop, you will learn techniques to communicate with people in conflict. We’ll discuss ways to turn down the heat, slow down the conversation and go beneath the surface. These efforts help us do two essential things when trying to communicate in conflict:  understand what is *really* going on for the other person and yourself, and help them see that you are trying to understand them. Showing our understanding of what another person might be going through often leads to a more focused, calm and productive dialogue.

We’ll also talk about different ways to check in with ourselves when conflict is overwhelming and we’re not sure what to do next. For them, it might be one heated conversation in their day; for you, it might be one of many. Figuring out how to take a step back and take care of our own needs is essential to our own mental health and ability to do our jobs.

Through a combination of discussion, demonstrations and role plays, you’ll get to experiment with:

• Compassionate and structured listening skills that build understanding between yourself and a person in conflict, or agitated state

• Noticing how your own body responds to stress

• Brief statements to communicate information when conversation is not possible

• Creating a checklist of things you can do take care of yourself when you’re in the path of someone else’s agitation