Difficult conversations aren't difficult because of the topic. They're difficult because no one has practised them.
Most managers know the conversation they should have had last month. Courageous Conversations are trainable - through RealPlay, live actor feedback and practice in a safe space, so when the stakes are high, your people are ready.
Building the muscles, not just the awareness
Courageous Conversations are trainable - not in a slogan-driven way, not in a half-day workshop that teaches frameworks people forget by Friday, but in a way that builds real capability. The conversations that matter most require curiosity, empathy and adaptability. Those muscles build through live interaction, not passive learning.
We expand participants' repertoire of skills and strategies, then immerse them in a variety of practice opportunities. They get to test new skills, feel the pressure and build genuine confidence in a safe space - so when the stakes are high, they're ready.
Sessions draw on frameworks your organisation may already use, or we'll bring our own: DEAL (Describe, Explain, Ask, Look forward), SBIA (Situation, Behaviour, Impact, Alternative), the Iceberg Model for surfacing what's driving behaviour below the waterline, and the Body Language Emotion model for reading the room in real time.
RealPlay is the component that makes training stick. The conversations you rehearse in your head rarely reflect reality. Our actors give you an interactive experience that replicates what happens under pressure, then provide informed, specific feedback to hone your skills.
Tailored frameworks
DEAL, SBIA, Iceberg and Body Language Emotion models as standard - adapted to the feedback culture your organisation already has or is building.
Safe practice space
Realistic scenarios that reflect tough workplace moments. Participants practise with actor-facilitators, individually or in small groups, before the stakes are real.
RealPlay
Live actor interaction that replicates reality - surprises, curveballs, emotional responses. Actors provide real-time, informed feedback on what landed and what didn't.
Skill-building exercises
Theory integrated with engaging activities focused on real-world application. Even experienced communicators leave with a new conversation edge.
The cost of the conversation that didn't happen
Most managers know the conversation they should have had last month. Many know the one they should have had last year.
Difficult feedback deferred compounds into team dysfunction, underperformance that no one names, psychological safety that erodes quietly and exit interviews that surface everything no one said in the room.
The good news is that Courageous Conversations are trainable. Not in a slogan-driven way, not in a half-day workshop that teaches frameworks people forget by Friday, but in a way that builds the muscles participants need. Difficult conversations require curiosity, empathy and adaptability. Those muscles build through live interaction, not passive learning.
The frameworks we teach
We expand participants' repertoire of skills and strategies, then immerse them in practice. Sessions draw on frameworks you may already use, or we'll bring our own:
Describe · Explain · Ask · Look forward
Our default model for everyday feedback. Structured enough to scaffold the conversation, flexible enough to flex around the person.
Situation · Behaviour · Impact · Alternative
For specific, observable feedback. When you need to point to exactly what happened and what should happen next.
The Iceberg Model
For surfacing what's driving behaviour below the waterline. Most workplace conflict is about the iceberg, not the surface.
Body Language Emotion
For reading the room in real time. The conversation you're having is often not the conversation that's happening.
Every session is tailored. The scenarios, the feedback models we emphasise and the vocabulary we use reflect your organisation's existing coaching culture - or the one you're building.
Three ways we build the skill
Safe practice with actor-facilitators
Get comfortable in the spotlight so you feel confident when it counts. Using realistic scenarios that reflect tough workplace moments, participants practise Courageous Conversations with our actor-facilitators, individually or in small groups.
RealPlay - the conversion moment
The conversations you rehearse in your head rarely reflect reality. Learn to adapt to the surprises and curveballs, and listen while being heard. Our actors give you an interactive experience that replicates reality and provide informed feedback to hone your skills. This is the component that makes the training stick.
Skill-building exercises
Learn the tools, then sharpen them through practice. Our customised skill-building sessions integrate theory with engaging exercises that focus on real-world application. Even the most experienced communicators leave with a new conversation edge.
Who this training is for
- New and emerging managers having their first performance conversations
- Experienced leaders who've avoided specific conversations for too long
- Customer-facing and clinical teams who hold difficult conversations daily
- Technical experts whose careers now require people leadership
- Cohorts working through restructures, mergers, or post-change team reformation
What a session looks like
Half-day or full-day, workshop-driven rather than Corporate-Theatre-led, with RealPlay as the conversion moment. Ideal cohort size is 30 to 40 so we can split into four or five small groups for practice time with an actor-facilitator.
- Frameworks introduced and practised: DEAL, SBIA, Iceberg, Body Language Emotion
- Realistic scenario practice in small groups with actor-facilitators
- RealPlay - live actor interaction with real-time feedback
- Skill-building exercises integrating theory and application
- Optional Corporate Theatre play for larger cohorts or culture programs
- Commitment Mapping as the close
“RolePlay is a learning technique that many people find confronting and will avoid at any cost. The RolePlay was made comfortable for the participants but the individual feedback that I saw being given by the actors was priceless.”
— Senior Sergeant, Continuous Improvement Team, WA Police Force
Frequently asked questions
We teach DEAL, SBIA, Iceberg and Body Language Emotion models as standard, and we adapt to frameworks you already use. If your organisation has an existing feedback model - GROW, Radical Candor, your own framework - we integrate rather than replace.
Yes. We scope cohorts deliberately. Executive cohorts typically run in smaller groups or one-to-one RealPlay sessions so practice doesn't come with visibility cost. Senior leaders often need to practise specific conversations they can't rehearse elsewhere.
Our RealPlay component handles that well. Experienced communicators typically discover one specific thing they do under pressure that undermines the conversation. That discovery is the training. It's rarely what they expected.
Often, yes. Many organisations run Courageous Conversations as one module in a broader leadership development program. We'll scope integration with your existing curriculum.
Ideal 30 to 40 so we can run four or five small groups simultaneously with actor-facilitators. Up to 50 also possible. Smaller executive cohorts of 6–12 work well in a more intensive format with more individual RealPlay time per person.
Training Delivered Differently
Let's talk about the conversation that's being avoided
If you've got a cohort that needs this - a team of new managers, a restructured leadership group, a clinical team drowning in difficult patient conversations - twenty minutes with Jacob will give you a clear picture of what a program for them could look like. Bring the context.