Tackling Tough Conversations withEmotional Intelligence
Learn how to approach difficult conversations with confidence, clarity, and empathy. Develop the emotional intelligence skills to manage challenging discussions, stay calm under pressure, and build stronger relationships through honest communication.
Tough conversations don't disappear when you avoid them.
The ability to approach them with emotional intelligence is one of the most powerful skills you can develop.
Develop the emotional intelligence skills to tackle difficult conversations with confidence, empathy, and clarity — and build stronger relationships as a result
Tough conversations happen everywhere — from the workplace to everyday life. Most people feel uncomfortable facing them. This course helps you tackle difficult conversations with emotional intelligence to build stronger relationships and better outcomes.
You will learn how to prepare for difficult discussions, choose the right communication channel, and adapt to different interaction styles. The course covers influence, persuasion, and unconscious language patterns to help you communicate with clarity and empathy, exploring real-world scenarios such as poor performance, harassment, conflict, and unethical behaviour.
The course shows you how to manage your emotions, stay calm, and focus on facts — just like trained negotiators do. You will complete practical activities, gain useful tools, and deepen your understanding of how human interactions work, developing your ability to handle challenging conversations more effectively in any context.
Ideal for professionals, leaders, HR teams, educators, and anyone who wants to communicate better under pressure. No prior experience is needed — just a willingness to learn, reflect, and grow.
What you will learn
Discover how emotional intelligence is used when tackling tough, difficult conversations to build emotional bonds.
Develop strategies for initiating, managing, and resolving challenging conversations using emotional intelligence.
Create effective responses to challenging behaviours at work with confidence and emotional awareness.
Identify and analyse the different approaches to tackling tough conversations in the workplace.
Assess approaches for typical situations that require you to influence and communicate with different types of people.
Construct a plan to approach and manage difficult conversations with clarity, empathy, and purpose.
What you will study
Tools that make your learning personal
Most online courses contain videos and quizzes.
This course gives you 2 interactive tools and resources, developed exclusively for Ei4Change learners.
Here are two examples of what you will find inside.
The Rules of Assertiveness
A reflective tool that guides you through 10 rules of assertiveness, asking you to rate how strongly you believe each one applies to you — then explore your responses in more depth.
- Presents 10 key rules of assertiveness — from respecting yourself and recognising your needs to making clear statements, allowing mistakes, and asking for what you want
- Invites you to rate how strongly you currently believe each rule applies to you, building an honest picture of your assertiveness
- Moves beyond self-rating into deeper reflection using dedicated reflection pages for each of the 10 rules
- Helps you identify where your assertiveness is strongest and where you may be holding back from communicating your needs confidently
- Builds the assertive communication mindset needed to approach tough conversations with confidence, clarity, and respect
Tackling Difficult Tough Conversations
A practical planning tool that helps you prepare for a real conversation you personally find tough — working through six structured steps to create a clear, assertive, and empathetic approach.
- Guides you to Reflect on the purpose of the conversation and identify what you hope to achieve
- Prompts you to Consider who needs to be present and to find a suitable time and location
- Encourages you to Think about the context and the specific factors contributing to the difficulty
- Supports you in Determining your key message and the most important points you need to communicate
- Helps you Anticipate potential responses or reactions — and Approach the conversation with empathy and respect so the other person feels heard
Built for real learning, not just completion.
Every element of this course is designed to move you forward.
Content, tools, and resources that meet you where you are and take you further.
HD video lessons
All video content professionally produced and recorded in HD 1080p
2 interactive tools
Exclusive tools and resources built for Ei4Change learners
Knowledge checks
Interactive quizzes to consolidate and test your understanding
Practical activities
Structured exercises that embed your learning in real situations
Certificate of completion
Shareable certificate of completion from Ei4Change
30 day guarantee
Full refund if you are not completely satisfied, no questions asked
Lifetime access
Return to the course whenever you need it, with free updates included
Section 508 compliant PDFs
All course materials meet accessibility standards
Lightbulb Moments Cards
Beautifully designed summary cards capturing key insights from each course. Print them, keep them on your desk, and refer back to them whenever you need a reminder of what you have learned. Learners report that these are among the most useful resources in the course.
What learners say
Robin Hills is the founder of Ei4Change and a recognised authority in emotional intelligence, with more than 45 years of experience as a business psychologist, trainer, and facilitator.
Emotional intelligence is not one topic among many in his work. It is the central focus. His teaching is built on a clear principle: emotional intelligence only matters when it is applied in real situations that shape decisions, relationships, and performance.
Through Ei4Change, Robin has developed one of the most established global platforms for emotional intelligence learning and development. His courses have reached over 600,000 learners across more than 200 countries, spanning a wide range of roles, industries, and levels of experience.
His approach is grounded in psychological research and informed by practical experience. Rather than offering quick fixes or surface level insight, he focuses on helping people think clearly under pressure, handle difficult situations, and make better decisions in the moment.
Robin's work reflects the reality that emotional intelligence is not about feeling good. It is about understanding what is happening within yourself and with others, and responding in a way that improves outcomes.
Ready to tackle tough conversations
with greater confidence and emotional intelligence?
Join learners who are using Tackling Tough Conversations with Emotional Intelligence to handle challenging discussions more effectively, build stronger relationships, and communicate with confidence when it matters most.
Enrol Now
with Emotional Intelligence