Difficult Conversations workshops: ‘I found it illuminating and I learnt so much!’

It’s not often that young people are invited to spend a morning reflecting on their conflict style. We are always interested in developing powerful ways for secondary school pupils to develop the skills which will help them engage in conversation and connect across difference.

We were therefore delighted to host Dr Daniel Wehrenfennig to lead two workshops in Bradford on how to become better at having conversations which might need us to be courageous in how we speak and listen to others. Daniel is an expert in dialogue; his work focuses on the ways to engage people with different views in constructive dialogue.

Almost 40 young people from four Bradford secondary schools participated in the workshop, which also gave them the opportunity to meet other students from across the district. In the afternoon, we were joined by colleagues from Bradford Council, University of Bradford, local civil society organisations and teachers from local schools, all of whom were hoping to gain insights for their own practice and to share with their teams.

Daniel discussed with the participants in both workshops the idea that we all have the ability to get better at having difficult conversations, whether with our peers in school or work or with friends and family. He encouraged us to practice this set of skills regularly so that we improve with practice.

There was fantastic feedback from the young people involved:

‘It was a really good opportunity to talk to people I otherwise wouldn’t have.’

‘It made me think loads!’

‘It was a really helpful morning and it has led me to see the world in a myriad of different ways, rather than just be concentrated in your own bubble.’

We are excited to be exploring how we can develop this work further and share Daniel’s expertise with a wider audience. If you’re interested in understanding more about building your own conflict muscle have a look at his TED talk here.