LTC

For two days in May, more than 20 faculty and staff members from across campus participated in VitalSmarts Crucial Conversations training to learn essential skills for, in their words, “talking when stakes are high.”  Led by VitalSmarts master certified trainer Stacy D. Nelson, participants convened to navigate the challenging practice of how to talk with others in high-stakes situations, which are often accompanied by strong emotions and opposing opinions. Workshop goals included improving dialogue and engagement, creating behavior change, and building a high-performance culture based on trust and respect.

The workshop, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the LTC, used illustrative video clips and slides, group work, and interactive practice to help participants expand their toolboxes to build their dialogue skills for difficult conversations and encouraged them to reflect on past conversations and how they might have used different approaches.  At the conclusion, the facilitator stressed that practice is essential to build capacity to communicate in difficult situations and challenged participants to continue deliberative practice. Feedback was positive and noted that the skills learned were pertinent to the workplace and to life outside of work.