Campus & Community

Faculty and Staff Invited to Fall Semester Crucial Conversations Workshop Series

Monday, August 22, 2022, By News Staff

Another installment of the popular will be offered to faculty and staff in the Fall 2022 semester.

The seven-week, in-person series will begin on Sept. 16 and wrap up on Oct. 28. Sessions will be held each Friday from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at a North Campus location yet to be determined. Participants must plan to attend all seven sessions and can . Managers and supervisors are encouraged to attend, as the program teaches skills that are especially applicable to those managing others.

Crucial Conversations teaches skills for creating alignment and agreement by fostering open dialogue around high-stakes, emotional or risky topics at all levels of an organization. These conversations can include topics focused on work quality, time management, productivity, performance, sensitive issues, conflict or a strained relationship, for example.

By learning how to speak and be heard (and encouraging others to do the same), you will begin to surface the best ideas, make the highest-quality decisions and act on those decisions with unity and commitment in a respectful way.

Throughout the program, participants will have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning through exercises, practice with real issues and group discussions.

Because there is a cost of $350 per person to cover program materials, departmental approval is necessary. The fee will be charged to participants’ budget centers and approval from your supervisor and budget manager is required.

Past participants speak highly of the program, anonymously sharing the following feedback during post-program evaluations:

  • “Everyone from the highest-level executive on campus on down could learn something from this course. It explored real-life situations, the videos were great and the learning materials are perfectly designed to reference when applying these new communication strategies.”
  • “Crucial Conversations provides an extraordinary value considering the lifelong applications with which you walk away. I think the aspect I like the most is that the skills developed can be used in every avenue of your day-to-day life.”
  • “I feel the information in this program should be required for anyone in a supervisory role.”
  • “An amazing course—one of the best professional development courses I’ve taken.”
  • “The entire book/subject matter is so critical—the learning environment was very well-constructed and made for a safe and fun learning experience.”

Space is limited to 24 participants; !