As a professional speaker, I am humbled by the 219% increase to 2,701 attendees in the first half of this year compared to last year on the webinar entitled “How to Handle Uncomfortable Situations Effectively.” Why is this so popular? As a society, we seem to be more polarized than ever. With various world events, a lack of true political discourse, and a greater lack of empathy and understanding, conflicts at work and in life seem to be at an all-time high.
This topic seems to have hit a chord. The high evaluation score of 4.74 on a 5.0 scale is a testament to the quality of this course. So, what is covered in this course, and what are people saying? If interested, find out how to attend this for free at the end of this commentary. If you know others who may appreciate this, share this with them, too. Contact me if you want me to address your society, association, firm, or industry. I am happy to help make this world a better place.
“How to Handle Uncomfortable Situations Effectively”
The following is a summary of key points from this presentation.
As learning objectives, you will be able to:
Evaluate collaboration and The Collaboration Effect®
Formulate connecting relationships, listening actively, and educating judiciously
Choose greater focus, control, and peace in their professional and personal relationships
Apply the listening technique to take positive actions going forward
Apply The Collaboration Effect® Pocket Guide
My journey with collaboration began at a young age, when I was growing up with my twin brother Mark and four other siblings. We quickly learned that our parents were the best mediators, often resolving our disputes by taking away a shared toy. This early lesson in collaboration set the foundation for my future work.
My understanding of collaboration deepened when my wife and I welcomed our first child. The birth of our daughter was a life-changing experience, marking a clear 'before children' and 'after children' in my life. This personal transformation has greatly influenced my approach to handling uncomfortable situations effectively.
It is not about me.
It is all about we.
It starts with me.
And so, it is with conflict resolution and collaboration. How I approach this, my attitude and my perspective of others sets a tone. If I come ready to listen, be there to help, and be creative, I can make a positive difference.
The Collaboration Effect®
Connecting Relationships
The Collaboration Effect® is about connecting relationships, listening actively, and educating judiciously, which leads to building bridges and negotiating closure. Building authentic connecting relationships is the first step. What do you know about the other party? Research them on social media, network with others, and explore connections. Look for things in common and how you can connect with a focus on similar values. For example, where are you from? Where were you educated? Are you both morning people? Do you drink coffee or tea? What do you like to do for fun? Do you have any pets? Are you married or single? Do you have any children? These things or others may give you an inroad to start a conversation. A question like “What have you been thinking about lately? What is your story? What has been the highlight of your week, or something similar may initiate the conversation?
Listening Effectively
The second element focuses on listening actively. Everyone wants to be listened to. This course teaches listening actively and provides real-world examples and a touch of humor. Listening actively and focusing on the other person are essential. While they are talking, what else could you be asking? Dr. Daniel Shapiro from Harvard suggests listening actively in this short video for at least 10 minutes. This means when you speak, you are paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, summarizing, suspending judgment, empathizing, and not offering advice. This is hard, and it takes practice. It does not come naturally to us. We have been taught that when the other person is talking, we should be ready to talk about ourselves or refute their comments. The focus here is on just the opposite and active listening.
Educating Judiciously
After listening actively, you will have gained real insight into how to educate them on how they want to be educated. You came up with what you wanted to say, but now you may find out that you may want to approach this differently. Seventy percent of us are visual learners. How can you boil this down to three key points?
Key elements from neuroscience help participants understand what happens in our brains and why we act as we do. Interacting questions bring home key points to enable participants to act positively based on what has been covered. With personal stories, Mike demonstrates how the key elements of neuroscience play out in our daily activities. This applies directly to conflict, conflict resolution, conflict management, collaboration, disputes, dispute resolution, dispute management, and The Collaboration effect based on neuroscience.
Bonus Items
The Collaboration Effect® is summarized, and bonus items relating to leadership and listening are shared with participants with actions so that they apply these at work and in life. Participants have shared that they and their people are more focused on the tasks at hand, have more control in navigating difficult decisions, and have more peace in their professional and personal relationships.
Recent Testimonials
These are four example testimonials from hundreds of testimonials from CPAs who have attended this course.
"Excellent webinar. Michael is a gifted speaker and his passion shined through effortlessly. I will be on the lookout for additional webinars from him!"
—Zachary Hamilton, Service Pros Installation Group, CPA , Charlotte, North Carolina
"I try to catch all of Michael Gregory's webinars because his advice is practical but also delivered in a genuine way, not condescending, as is often done elsewhere."
—Tyler Smith, Flagship Food Group , Meridian, Idaho
"This course was so much more than advertised as it delved much more into our own personal self-control and how we as individuals show up in difficult / tough conversations / moments than focusing on "managing others' reactions and expectations". It was outstanding and a great (positive) surprise! Thank you!"
—Mary Buttarazzi Orbia, Advance Corporation, VP Finance, Chief Accounting Officer, CPA , Cambridge, Massachusetts
"This is one of the best webinars I've attended in a long time. Mike Gregory has so many useful ideas to improve negotiations and deal effectively with uncomfortable situations which he shares effectively. The hour flew by, and I'd love to have this available on other dates so other CPAs could hear the presentation."
—Bonnie Hellman, Bonnie D Hellman, CPA LLC , Ouray, Colorado
Their commentary humbles me, but I find their comments highly motivating. Would you like to see the other webinars I offer at CPA Academy and what courses you can take for free or pay a nominal fee for CPE credit? Check out this link at CPA Academy and create an account for free. I have appreciated their support, knowing how much others have enjoyed these sessions and that they have shared recommendations with co-workers, friends, professional societies and associations, their firms, and educational institutions. Please contact me if you would like to explore this or other topics.
Check out these links if you would like to learn more about collaboration, conflict resolution, or enhancing your Servant Manager skills.