Workshop Resources
Effective communication is at the heart of healthy workplace dynamics. Whether navigating conflict between colleagues, building trust with clients, or giving and receiving feedback, strong communication skills help teams work more productively and maintain positive relationships. The articles, books, and videos below are referenced in our training and provide practical frameworks, tools, and real-world strategies that employees can use to strengthen collaboration, manage conflict constructively, and create a more supportive workplace culture.
Workshop Slides
Recommended Reading
Articles
- The Right Way to Respond to Negative Feedback, by Tasha Eurichin, Harvard Business Review
- 4 Strategies to Help New Leaders Give Feedback, by Marissa Fernandez, Harvard Business Review
- How to Give and Receive Constructive Feedback at Work, by Jacquelyn Adams, InSight
Books
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen
Overview: Explores why tough conversations are so challenging and offers a step-by-step framework for approaching them with clarity, curiosity, and empathy.
Key takeaway for employees: Use these tools to address sensitive workplace issues constructively, whether resolving conflicts with colleagues, navigating client concerns, or giving/receiving feedback without defensiveness.
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High
by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, & Al Switzler
Overview: Provides practical strategies for handling high-stakes, emotionally charged discussions where opinions differ.
Key takeaway for employees: Learn to stay calm under pressure, maintain strong working relationships, and find shared understanding, which is essential for teamwork and client negotiations.
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In,
by Robert Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton
Overview: A classic guide to principled negotiation, emphasizing interests over positions and mutual gains.
Key takeaway for employees: Apply these strategies to resolve conflicts more effectively, strengthen collaboration, and build trust with colleagues and clients.
Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations,
by William Ury
Overview: Offers tools for overcoming resistance, defusing tension, and keeping conversations productive when others are uncooperative.
Key takeaway for employees: Stay constructive in the face of pushback and resolve impasses without escalating conflict, internally or externally.
Just Listen: The Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
by Mark Goulston
Overview: Demonstrates the power of deep listening to reduce defensiveness and build influence by making others feel truly heard.
Key takeaway for employees: Strengthen trust, improve collaboration, and de-escalate tensions by listening in a way that makes colleagues and clients feel understood.
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni
Overview: A leadership fable that highlights common team pitfalls: lack of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results, and how to overcome them.
Key takeaway for employees: Build healthier team dynamics by addressing conflict directly, fostering accountability, and aligning around shared goals.
Nonviolent Communication: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
by Marshall Rosenberg and Deepak Chopra
Overview: Introduces a communication process based on empathy, clarity, and mutual respect to express needs without blame or judgment.
Key takeaway for employees: Use NVC to reduce misunderstandings, improve collaboration, and give feedback in a way that strengthens relationships at work and with clients.
By Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen
Overview: This book explains why receiving feedback is often difficult and provides strategies to better understand, process, and respond to feedback, whether it’s well-delivered or poorly given.
Key takeaway for employees: Learn how to separate the message from the delivery, manage emotional reactions, and use feedback as a tool for growth. These skills help employees strengthen collaboration, improve performance, and build trust in both peer and client relationships.
Videos
The Secret to Giving Great Feedback
Radical Candor – The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss
Not every article, book, or video needs to be viewed/read at once. Start with the one that speaks most to your current challenges or goals, and put its strategies into practice. Even one new approach can make a meaningful difference in collaborating, handling conflict, and building stronger relationships at work and with clients.
For more information, contact MWI’s Director of Ombuds and Mediation Services, Josh Hoch, at 617-895-4028.
