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Conflict training for organisations

Wandsworth Mediation Service is an established conflict resolution training provider. For over a decade we have been delivering tailored conflict training to schools, councils, businesses and community organisations. We can help your organisation build rapport with clients, reduce workplace conflict, and improve your employees’ communication skills.

Why choose Wandsworth Mediation Service as your training provider?

      What training do we offer?

      We have a number of different modules that you can chose from, which we can modify to suit areas that might be relevant to your teams. All our courses are very interactive, with small group discussions, role plays and short presentations. Here are some areas we cover:

      Conflict training for client-facing staff:

      Influencing outcomes and managing expectations: creating a safe environment for a challenging conversation to take place. Using questions, verbal prompts, reflection and reframing so that the client can feel that they are understood. Reality checking client expectations in constructive ways. Using positive language to give clients clarity about their choices, and to encourage and support them to accept what is on offer. 

      Building rapport: improving communication skills to help build rapport with stressed or agitated clients, or people in difficult situations. Body language for virtual and face-to-face meetings. Tone and expression for telephone calls. Questioning to find out all the issues. Developing understanding and reframing skills. 

      Layers of conflict: learning constructive ways to react and respond when conflict is directed at you. Ways to ask questions to understand the client’s feelings and needs, and in doing so moving past “positions” that the client may hold. Understanding the emotional nature of conflict, empathising. Staying connected with the client whilst dealing with heightened emotions.   

      Unlocking deadlock: understanding the factors that can cause deadlock. Techniques to step back from the detail and help clients to move from entrenched positions to consider alternative options. Helping clients to recognise their real priorities, and how they can take action to achieve them.  Moving clients from a focus on the past to a focus on the future. 

      Conflict training for tackling workplace disagreements:

      Conflict Awareness & Skills, to help your team better deal with conflict when it is directed at them or to help resolve conflict between other people. Learning to reframe, summarise and clarify what the client has said, for improved understanding. Using “I statements” to express yourself.

      Managing your emotions: learning how to stay calm during stressful times and in stressful situations. It will provide practical tips and techniques, and will also help the participants reflect on what works for them.

      Rebuilding relationships: exploring the reasons why some relationships break down, and introducing practical steps for restoring them.

      Improving your listening skills: learning how to use active listening during conflict conversations, in order to understand others better and build rapport.

      Dealing with conflict: managing how your team members react to disagreements. Helping them think about conflicts that have affected them using interactive exercises, and learning ways for dealing with disagreements more constructively.

      Straight talking: This builds on the “Expressing yourself” workshop. The participants will learn a powerful technique to say difficult things to people in a constructive way, to achieve a positive outcome. 

      Expressing yourself: helping your team members understand their needs and feelings. Developing effective communication skills so they can express their views clearly, in a way that does not attack or blame others, and is easier for the listener to hear and understand.

      Negotiating skills: this builds on the “Dealing with conflict” workshop. Equipping your team with skills to work with people who might be in conflict with each other. We will give you the words to use to try to unlock disagreements and help people focus on what they might do differently.

      How much?

      Prices for the conflict training depend on the courses selected, the number of participants, and whether the course is run over several shorter sessions or 1-2 days. Please get in touch to discuss your needs and obtain a quote.

      Who are our trainers?

      Nick Adlington

      Nick Adlington

      Nick is an experienced mediator, specialising in both workplace and inter-generational mediation.  He has been on our panel for a number of years and runs training courses for WMS.  Nick is also a teacher and a psychotherapist, with a particular interest in the emotional aspects of conflict and the skills needed to navigate a path through our day-to-day differences. Details about Nick’s mediation practice and articles can be found at: https://go-dialogue.co.uk/ and his psychotherapy practice at: therapy-gestalt.com

      Sharon Crooks

      Sharon Crooks

      Sharon is one of our Community mediators who is also accredited as a Workplace and Civil and Commercial Mediator.  Her background in HR gives her confidence in delivering training and coaching across a number of sectors.  She specialises in facilitating groups and teams to work through challenges and is passionate about helping people to communicate better, especially when they are in conflict.  Her delivery style is inclusive and impactful, even when working remotely.  Sharon founded Peacewell in 2018 as a not-for-profit entity providing mediation, facilitation and training in a wide range of contexts.

      https://www.peacewell.org.uk

      Lizzie Haynes

      Lizzie Haynes

      Lizzie has been a valued member of our panel for 10 years. Although she specialises in Family Mediation, she is also trained in Civil & Commercial, Workplace, Employment and Community. Lizzie is an experienced tutor and assessor with the London School of Mediation and runs training courses for WMS.  Lizzie has broad experience in dealing with conflict and mediation, which helps her to equip others with practical skills into her training courses.  There is more information about Lizzie’s experience on her website: http://www.lhmediation.com

      Christine Bowyer-Jones

      Christine Bowyer-Jones

      With many years’ experience resolving disputes in areas including sport, employment, commercial contracts and property, Christine trained as a civil and commercial mediator with the ADR Group in 2009 and subsequently as a workplace and employment mediator with the London School of Mediation. Since becoming a mediator, she has successfully mediated a wide range of disputes of all sizes. Having worked for many years as a lawyer in the sport sector, Christine has particular expertise mediating sport disputes and is a mediator member of Sport Resolutions’ Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators.