1 or 2 days.  This workshop can be delivered with or without actors , on-site face to face or virtually.

Aim:

The aim of this course is to help you maintain your professionalism in difficult and challenging situations.

Objectives:

By the end of this course you will:

• Define how you can recognise and choose your response to avoid the triggers to potential conflict
• Have practised the use of questioning and listening skills as a diagnostic process
• Manage your own emotional reactions and positively influence your customers behaviour
• Create effective outcomes to challenging situations by using assertiveness techniques
• Have identified your own preferred style of communication and be able to adapt to other peoples styles to achieve a satisfying emotional response for both of you
• Use your own case studies to reframe and respond for effective customer service

Programme

Introductions, objectives and identifying when you delivered your very best customer serviceWhat makes a situation challenging and potentially difficult?

• Is it them? Is it the organisation? Is it me? What is the trigger?
• Levels of potential conflict
• I am OK -  you are OK
• Transactional analysis: parent, child, adult behaviours
• Top tips for averting conflict at the earliest stages

Managing ourselves and our responses

• Is my way the right way?
• Identifying and dealing with different communication styles to achieve a satisfying emotional outcome for both of you
• Being aware and responsible for the impact you have on the customer
• Engage professional brain act not react
• Influence and take control

Responding to the customer

• Review your assertiveness techniques
• Why we only listen to wait for our turn to talk“.  What stops us being active?

Types of questions to:

• clarify the customers expectation and not assume
• solve the problem together
• deliver a service 
• Reframe negative language to positive
• Use voice and tone that enables the dialogue
• When and how to end the call

Dealing with threatening, abusive or potentially violent behaviour

• A reminder of your organisation's policy
• Managing the risk
• Top tips for protecting yourself and others

Forum Theatre: Putting it all together

• Using actors to practise handling challenging situations using your own case studies.

Action planning and learning outcomes

• What have you learnt and what are you committing to doing differently as a result?
• What support do you need to do this?