DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS TRAINING FOR MANAGERS AND TEAMS
Learn How To Have Difficult Conversations The Right Way
Managers and colleagues who avoid hard conversations cost you grievances, turnover and lost productivity.
In a half-day, your team learns a method that sticks. They’ll walk out able to open a hard conversation calmly, hold it without escalating, and land it with a toolkit they'll use the very next day.
Let’s explore the conversations your team is avoiding and run through what a session covers:
Trusted to help teams at:
£28.5 billion
THE COST OF AVOIDING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS AT WORK
The annual cost of workplace conflict to UK organisations (ACAS).
The reality: Much of this cost comes from avoiding difficult conversations in the early stage.
44%
Of UK employees experienced conflict in the last year (ACAS).
The reality: Leadership and HR spending hours refereeing issues that teams should be able to resolve.
13.8 million
You might not see the £28.5 billion macroeconomic cost, but you’re likely seeing some of these things:
The Feedback Postponed: a manager delays an underperformance review for months because they “don't want to upset the team dynamic”.
The Boundary Blurred: minor boundary issues or behavioural shifts are unaddressed until they need formal HR intervention.
The Email Instead of the Meeting: colleagues hiding behind passive-aggressive digital messages rather than picking up the phone or meeting face-to-face.
The High-Performer Burnout: your best staff pick up the slack for others because their manager is uncomfortable giving direct feedback.
Most people were never taught how to handle these moments well. The good news? Having difficult conversations and resolving conflict are skills anyone can learn. Let me show you how.
Days lost in the last year in the UK due to work-related stress, anxiety or depression.
The reality: Clear, kind, proactive conversations are one of the best tools to prevent burnout and stress.
About Your Trainer
Hi, I’m Nikki Allen - trainer, qualified therapist and published author. For 20 years, I’ve worked with organisations like the UNEP, the UK Department for Science and Innovation, Bauer Media, Savills, HSBC, Cisco, Apple and as Head of Training for global language consultancy The Writer. I’ve trained groups of two to 200, virtually and in person, across tens of countries on four continents.
My expertise on conflict resolution, healthy communication and boundary setting have been recognised nationally and internationally, including in The Guardian and Radio New Zealand.
20,000+ people trained
50+ corporate/ public sector clients
Featured in major national media
Abi Wright, Founder, SheStands
“Whether speaking at events or running workshops, Nikki’s ability to motivate, inspire and empower is incredible... the work Nikki does is transformational.”
What A Difficult Conversations Training Session Delivers:
The Psychology of Conflict
The group explores their instinctive responses to tension: Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn. They’ll identify their personal triggers and learn why team members default to passive-aggressive emails or bury their heads to avoid conflict.
—> The result:
Drop the dread by understanding the patterns at play.
The Tools And Frameworks
We dive into practical communication tools and strategies. Managers learn how to separate the person from the behaviour, find the issues under the surface, use neutral language and a simple 4-step structure to open and guide conversations.
A concrete script to deliver tough messages without defensiveness.
—> The result:
The Practical Activities
No ‘Death by PowerPoint’! Your team will actively explore realistic workplace scenarios (like pushing back on workloads or managing boundaries). And they’ll learn therapist-backed techniques to emotionally reset, so they don't carry the stress with them all day.
Confidence to handle friction calmly and protect their own wellbeing.
—> The result:
How It’s Delivered:
Tailored to You: Training customised around your specific needs
Flexible Format: Delivered virtually or in-person UK-wide.
Long-Term Impact: Takeaways and optional follow-up coaching.
Built for your Budget: Scope adjusted to suit your available spend.
Your Questions, Answered
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Leaders, managers and teams who want to improve communication, reduce conflict and build better working relationships.
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Yes. I can customise every workshop to your organisation’s needs. But if you’d like to discuss a lower cost, non-tailored option, we can do that too.
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Yes, very. I believe people learn best by doing, and trying things out. Participants practise these skills in a safe, supportive environment, and they’ll have an interactive toolkit to take away afterwards.
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Yes. Both virtual and in-person sessions are available. Though I’d always encourage an in-person session for this particular topic, as it means I can offer people more individual feedback.
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For an in-person workshop, I can run the session for anything up to 12 people. Online, we can go up to 20.
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My rates start from £595.00 for a 60-minute virtual workshop.
The Impact In Clients’ Own Words:
“Superb.”
“Nikki is so engaging and enthusiastic. It was the most enjoyable training session I have ever been on!”
— Bauer Media workshop attendee“Always brilliant.”
“Nikki creates bespoke and highly engaging training sessions for us as an organisation. The feedback from our employees is always brilliant.”
— People team, UNEP-WCMC“So smart, kind and needed.”
“I don’t think I realised before this workshop how much I was carrying, and Nikki navigated the conversation with such grace.”
— Private Secretary, UK Department of Science & Innovation