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Description

Five Relationship Tools: Listening, Reformulating and Speaking Up with Confidence

Two days to embed five simple relationship practices and put them to use as soon as you return to work

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Working relationships often break down over small things: an instruction that was misunderstood, a disagreement that was never voiced, feedback that felt like an attack. Everyone puts up with this friction until the day it starts weighing on an entire department.

This 14-hour programme is built around five directly usable relationship tools: active listening, reformulation, assertive expression, constructive feedback and questioning. Each tool is presented, practised in pairs and then applied to a real work situation brought by the participants.

Learning objectives

  • Practise active listening without interrupting or steering the other person
  • Reformulate a message to check what has actually been understood
  • Voice disagreement assertively, without aggression or withdrawal
  • Give feedback on a piece of work while staying with observable facts
  • Use questioning to clarify a vague request
  • Select the right tool for the relationship situation at hand

What makes this programme different

Five tools practised in pairs and then applied to a situation brought by each participant
A selection grid to identify the right tool for each situation
Paired exchanges recorded and reviewed to fine-tune wording

Programme

1Listening and Reformulating

The first two tools

  • Conditions for genuinely attentive listening
  • Spotting your own interruptions and mental shortcuts
  • Reformulating both content and intent
  • Checking understanding before responding

2Speaking Up Without Aggression

The third tool

  • Distinguishing passivity, aggression and assertiveness
  • Voicing disagreement on a specific point
  • Declining a request while explaining the reason
  • Responding to a discourteous remark

3Giving Useful Feedback

The fourth tool

  • Feedback grounded in observable facts
  • Separating the work delivered from the person
  • Formulating a request for change
  • Receiving feedback without immediately justifying yourself

4Questioning and Choosing Your Tool

The fifth tool and consolidation

  • Open questions and clarifying questions
  • Clarifying a vague or contradictory request
  • Selection grid for choosing the tool to suit the situation
  • Action plan for using the five tools over the coming weeks

Who is it for

Employees working in teams or in cross-functional settings, and anyone wishing to improve the quality of their professional interactions.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge required

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.