Having Difficult Conversations and Making them Productive

Wolkoff, E (Elana)
William James College, One Wells Avenue, 02459, Newton

 

Submission type

Round Table Discussion

Scheduled

Room 105, 11-07-2019, 09:00 - 10:30

Keywords

difficult conversations, communication, empowerment, trust, collaboration, implicit bias, relationships

Summary

School psychologists play a critical role in communication, increasing stakeholder’s ability to collaborate and modelling for our students how to address complex issues.  Anxieties, implicit biases, cultural misunderstandings, and the gap between intent and impact are some of the obstacles to productive conversations.  Yet, if they are handled effectively, these same conversations can increase understanding, trust, and collaboration.  

Conversations can be difficult due to their breath, encompassing issues such as race, class, immigration, or politics, or they can be more particular, such as the education of one’s child or giving/ receiving personal feedback. The range of subjects is vast, but each must be handled with finesse or we risk damaging relationships and decreased efficacy in achieving our primary goals of meeting students’ needs and empowering them for lifelong success.

This Round Table Discussion will enable participants to share both obstacles and strategies for having difficult conversations in their respective cultures, thus promoting these discussions in our increasingly diverse communities. Participation in this session will enable participants to:

·       * Identify obstacles that impede productive communication;

·       * Recognize early indicators that a conversation is going awry;

·       * Identify strategies to make difficult conversations more productive.

Auteurs