The Art of Conflict Transformation

9:00-4:00 (CST), March 11-12, 2025 (virtual)

Have you been feeling tied up in knots over conflict?

woman & man standing facing each other with ropes tangled between their wrists

woman & man sitting next to each other with ropes tangled between their wrists

Are you trying to find win-win solutions when everything feels like a competition?

4 sets of people sitting opposite each other holding hands across a table

This highly interactive, 2-day training will support you in developing the skills to reframe your relationship with conflict and find more innovative solutions that elicit a full-bodied "YES!" vs. "I guess I could live with that...."

Conflict is a natural part of life that presents us with opportunities for creative solutions. When approached openly and with curiosity, conflict can motivate us to change and grow, and deepen our relationships with others. Yet, many of us have been taught that to be in conflict is a negative experience in which we should either retreat, concede, or fight until we win. When stuck in a single approach to conflict it can inhibit our ability to effectively solve problems. As a result of our past experiences with conflict, many of us are anxious about interpersonal differences.

The art of conflict transformation is about shifting an "either-or" way of thinking into an attitude of curiosity and openness to possibility out of which people can create win-win solutions. This training will help you (1) increase your comfort in dealing with conflict and (2) learn an effective method for responding to conflict that increases trust and communication in relationships.

You will learn:

• How your history with conflict impacts your current responses

• The differences between win/lose and win/win responses to conflict

• How to check out assumptions before they escalate into conflict

• How to be more grounded and centered when having challenging conversations

• How to shift from positions to understanding and expressing your underlying needs

• How to use inquiry to enhance your ability to listen to others' needs

• Ways to discover common ground and achieve win-win solutions

The training is limited to 25 participants to allow for active engagement and individualized coaching.

Questions? Contact Kathy Germann, 608-233-6757 or kathy.germann@gmail.com

Your Facilitators

Offered for 30 years through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies, Kathy Germann is conducting this training publicly through her business, along with her colleague, Chris Castro.

Kathy and Chris have 60 years of combined experience teaching, facilitating, and consulting with educational, human service, healthcare, governmental, and business organizations. They specialize in communication skills, learning preferences, team development, conflict transformation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Kathy has been teaching, consulting and coaching in the areas of inclusivity, conflict transformation, communication skills and training design with a broad range of audiences including the public and private sectors for four decades.

Chris is a nationally recognized expert in inclusive excellence. He has worked in a variety of academic fields in higher education as a faculty member, educational consultant, and administrator, and has worked with the National Science Foundation in efforts to broaden participation and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine.

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