Managing Difficult Conversations

A half-day workshop for leaders having quality conversations with their team.

Managers who can handle difficult conversations well build stronger teams and better outcomes. This interactive workshop gives staff with leadership responsibilities the skills to engage with challenging topics — including conversation control, managing defensive behaviours, and resolving conflict — through role plays and workplace scenarios.

Duration: Half day  ·  Delivery: Online or in the ACT  ·  Cohort: 8-20 participants

Aligned to the APS Craft Capability Framework and APS Workforce Strategy 2025.

Send enquiry

Short Courses → Managing Difficult Conversations

What your team will learn

Practical skills managers can apply to their next difficult conversation.

By the end of the workshop, participants will feel more confident approaching a difficult conversation. They will understand the importance of preparation and logistics. They will also develop their communication skills — including questioning and listening techniques — to stay in control of the conversation.

What we cover

    • Preparation and logistics — Setting up the conversation for the best chance of a good outcome.
    • Conversation control — Structuring and steering the conversation to stay on track.
    • Questioning and listening — Techniques for staying in control and drawing out the real issues.
    • Managing defensive behaviours — Recognising and responding to defensiveness without escalating.
    • Resolving conflict — Working through disagreement to a workable outcome.
    • Practice through role plays — Applying the skills to realistic workplace scenarios.

Workshop format

Half a day, delivered to your team as a closed cohort.

McMillan’s Managing Difficult Conversations workshop is an interactive half-day session for staff who manage direct reports. Role plays and workplace scenarios are used throughout to build practical skill.

At a glance

    • Length: Half day
    • Audience: Staff with leadership responsibilities
    • Delivery: Online (live, facilitated) or in-person in the ACT
    • Cohort size: Minimum 8, maximum 20 participants
    • Approach: Facilitated instruction, role plays, and scenario-based discussion

Who the workshop is for

For staff with leadership responsibilities who manage direct reports.

Managing Difficult Conversations is designed for people who manage others in their role. We tailor content and scenarios to your cohort’s leadership context before delivery.

Typical cohorts

    • Team leaders and supervisors managing direct reports for the first time
    • Experienced managers refreshing their approach or handling specific challenges
    • Emerging leaders preparing for a leadership role
    • Whole leadership teams building a shared approach to difficult conversations

When this workshop is a good fit:

    • Managers are avoiding difficult conversations or handling them poorly
    • Performance, conduct, or interpersonal issues are being left too long
    • New managers need practical skills, not just theory
    • You want a shared standard for how your leaders handle hard conversations

How McMillan delivers

An evidence-based delivery approach grounded in adult learning principles and applied consistently to every workshop.

Every workshop follows the same delivery cycle—a consistent approach we apply to every workshop we run.

Our delivery cycle

    1. Initiate — We confirm outcomes, audience, delivery mode, schedule, and success measures. You get a Delivery Plan covering scope, responsibilities, evaluation, risks, and dependencies before we start.
    2. Design and tailor — Where contextualisation is needed, we shape content, scenarios, and activities to your workplace. You get finalised session materials before delivery.
    3. Deliver — We deliver online or face-to-face at your location. Sessions are interactive, practical, and designed for the roles and settings your team actually works in.
    4. Evaluate and close — We capture participant and stakeholder feedback and agreed measures of impact. You get an evaluation summary you can share with your executive.

This same delivery discipline sits under every workshop McMillan runs — non-accredited short courses and nationally recognised qualifications alike.

Related workshops

Other short courses your team might find useful.

← Back to all short courses

Let's talk about your training needs

Tell us who you are and what you’re after — Ben or Lauren will get back to you.

Prefer to call? Phone us on (02) 6230 0266.

Scroll to top