We invite you to register for 

Difficult Conversations

Location: Birmingham

Meeting Venue: TBC

Course Start: Thursday 6th November 2025, 9am

Course End: Thursday 6th November 2025, 5pm

XLVets Members: £350 +VAT

Non-Member: £455 +VAT

Programme Outline: 

The course will help delegates to practice the techniques and skills to deal more effectively and confidently with difficult conversations such as, bereavement, euthanasia or discussing client finances. The day will be discussion-based, allowing delegates to explore specific issues or types of conversation that are most challenging to them.

• The Difficult Conversations we face: An opportunity to identify specific types of conversation that you find difficult as we open up the topic and ask: “What is a difficult conversation?”
• Understanding Yourself: Being aware of your own style, your intent and the approach you take to potential conflict is an essential ingredient to successfully managing difficult conversations. Identify your own communication style and begin to consider how best to communicate with different styles to your own.
• Why things escalate: In this short section of the day we’ll look at why difficult conversations sometimes escalate and begin to discuss ways of preventing or managing that escalation.
• Bereavement and Change: Conversations with bereaved clients can be challenging. As the day begins to draw to its conclusion we will give specific time to those difficult conversations with people facing challenging forms of change and specifically bereavement.
• What are the skills that will enable you to manage difficult conversations more effectively? In this part of the day you’ll have an opportunity to experiment with a set of skills that can transform difficult conversations.
• Boundaries: One of the most important skills when handling difficult conversations is the ability to recognise personal and professional boundaries. Knowing when and how to pull back from a conversation protects our own sanity and other people’s mental health.

Included: Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Trainer: Ian Harrison, Growhouse GB

Testimonials:
‘Help to understand how to approach a difficult conversation and give tools and structure on how to get the best outcome.’
Leah Pidgeon at St Boniface Vets
‘Extremely helpful to be able to cope with a difficult conversation . . . I now have more confidence that I can do it.’
Sarah Moore at Prostock Vets