November 6, 2025 Registration

November 6, 2025 workshop agenda

Focus: Difficult Conversations

For those joining on Zoom: https://aiu3.zoom.us/my/heather.moschetta       Zoom room will open at approximately 8:45 and remain open throughout the day.

9:00-9:15 Welcome, Directory, Events and Opportunities, Table Talk Reflection from last month

• Member Directory

• Events and Opportunities

• Table Talk Reflection:  Have you implemented a new-to-you time management strategy?  Is it working for you?

• In-Network Mentoring: Looking for a Mentor? Looking to be a Mentor?  Mentor Slides

9:15-10:00 Why Are Coaching Conversations Hard?

Why are coaching conversations sometimes hard? Why does the job of coaching require so many hard conversations?

• Affinity Mapping:

  • Individually, write ideas on sticky notes (1 idea per note) and stick to the chart paper on the wall near your table group.

  • Once lots of ideas have been generated, begin grouping them into similar categories, then label the categories

  • Discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, etc.

• Zoom Affinity Map: Use this Padlet

• Whip around - share something from your affinity map

10:00-10:15 Common Ground

Think of someone you might need to have a hard conversation with. This will serve as a scenario for other activities today.

• Finding Common Ground (first three questions) - Finding Common Ground - Looking Ahead Worksheet (from Jim Knight's 2015 book Better Conversations)

  • Other online resources/worksheets from Better Conversations

10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-11:30 Direct instruction + Activity

Dialogic Conversation/Hesitancy to Have Hard Conversations (Slides)

1. Dialogic Conversations

2. Hesitancy to Have Hard Conversations

• 18 Reasons We Avoid Hard Conversations- Which one resonates with you?

• Try This - Match to your reasons to a strategy to start to overcome your hesitancy

  • PDF Version

11:30-12:45 Lunch

12:45-1:30 Resource of the Month

Welcome back quote: Why hard conversations matter 

Article Study Preparing for Difficult Conversations With Teachers

• The article was written for school leaders having to guide hard conversations with their subordinates. However, your discussion in your subgroups should shift to using these principles with teachers you coach. 

• Reframe the "Seven Step Process for Difficult Conversations" into your own step.

• Want to bring a resource for your group next time?  Go to your group's folder here to sign up.

1:30-2:00 Six Steps to prep for a hard conversation 

• Outcome Map, step by step - use your scenario from Jim Knight Common Ground handout

  • If completing the Outcome Map digitally, click the link above, and scroll down.  Click the purple "Use template" button, and you'll be prompted to log into Canva.  You can type in the provided text boxes.

  • Example Outcome Map

2:15-2:30 - Closing Activity: 

Summary and reflection

Strategies/Resources used/modeled today:

• Affinity Mapping

• Whip Around

• Dialogic Conversation

• 18 Reasons We Avoid Hard Conversations

• "Try This" Strategies to Encourage Us to Have the Hard Conversations

• Outcome Map

• Preparing for Difficult Conversations

• What did you gain from today that you can use in your coaching?

Next month's Instructional Coaches' Network meeting date: December 9, 2025, 9:00-2:30