Business Communications Under Pressure

Influence, Objections and Difficult Conversations

Control the structure and direction of the conversation

A practical and academically grounded course for professionals who need to manage challenging conversations with customers, suppliers, colleagues and other stakeholders. Learn how to listen more effectively, uncover the real issue, overcome objections, manage expectations and guide conversations towards clear, fair and commercially sound outcomes.

Handle Difficult Conversations with Greater Confidence

Business Communication Under Pressure is a practical, professionally grounded course for anyone who needs to manage challenging conversations with customers, suppliers, colleagues or employees. It will help you listen beyond the words being used, identify the real issue, respond to objections and guide conversations towards clear, workable outcomes.

Stop Reacting. Start Taking Control.

Difficult conversations often go wrong because people react too quickly, make assumptions or offer solutions before they fully understand the problem. This course gives you a structured approach for remaining calm, asking better questions, managing expectations and maintaining control of the conversation without becoming aggressive, defensive or manipulative.

Using the exclusive TaylorMade STEER Method, you will learn how to stabilise difficult situations, test your understanding, explore the true objection, explain your position clearly and reach a specific agreement. You will also learn how to use your voice more effectively, recognise emotionally loaded and imprecise language, challenge unreasonable statements respectfully and deliver unwelcome messages with calm authority.

Practical Skills You Can Use Immediately

This is not a course based on empty theory or scripted phrases. Each module connects academic communication principles with realistic workplace situations, including customer complaints, supplier failures, overdue payments, disputed expectations, performance conversations and commercial negotiations.

By the end of the programme, you will have created your own practical communication toolkit, including conversation-planning templates, diagnostic questions, objection-handling responses, voice-development exercises and a structured method for assessing whether an agreement is fair, workable and commercially sound.

Whether you work in customer service, finance, credit and collections, sales, procurement, operations or leadership, this course will help you communicate more confidently when the pressure is on and turn difficult conversations into stronger business outcomes.

Choose a pricing plan

Business Communications

£195

Course curriculum

1

Course Introduction
- Communication is a business skill, not a personality trait
- The purpose of this course
- Why people experience the same conversation differently
- Listening beyond the surface
- Influence is not manipulation
- What does it mean to control a conversation?
- The TaylorMade STEER Method
- Creating a balanced business outcome
- Course structure Free Preview
- Introductory activity: Communication under pressure
2

Module 1: Understanding Communication and Preparing for Success
- Module 1 Purpose
- 1.1 Communication Is More Than the Words We Use
- Activity 1.1: Improving an unclear instruction
- 1.2 Facts, Interpretations and Assumptions
- Activity 1.2: The FACT Check
- 1.3 Understanding Different Perspectives
- Activity 1.3: Change the chair
- 1.4 Managing Your Own State
- Activity 1.4: Prepare your opening
- 1.5 Defining the Desired Outcome
- Activity 1.5: Define the outcome
- 1.6 Ethical Influence
- Activity 1.6: Ethical or manipulative?
- Module 1 Applied Case Study
- Module 1 Practical Assignment
- Module 1 Knowledge Check
3

Module 2: Listening, Rapport and Guiding the Conversation
- Module 2 Purpose
- 2.1 Listening to Understand
- Activity 2.1: The ninety-second listening exercise
- 2.2 Demonstrating Understanding
- Activity 2.2: Paraphrasing practice
- 2.3 Empathy Without Automatic Agreement
- Activity 2.3: Build a structured summary
- 2.4 The Professional Use of Voice
- Activity 2.4: Acknowledge without admitting liability
- 2.5 Non-Verbal and Contextual Information
- Activity 2.5: Observe, do not diagnose
- 2.6 Maintaining Conversational Structure
- Activity 2.6: Strong and weak openings
- 2.7 Handling Emotion Without Absorbing It
- Activity 2.7: De-escalation practice
- Module 2 Applied Case Study
- Module 2 Practical Activities
- Module 2 Output: Voice and Listening Improvement Plan
- Module 2 Knowledge Check
4

Module 3: Overcoming Objections Through Language and Questions
- Module 3 Purpose
- 3.1 Understanding Objections
- Activity 3.1: Diagnose the objection
- 3.2 Common Business Objections
- Activity 3.2: Build the question set
- 3.3 Listening for Imprecise Language
- Activity 3.3: Rewrite vague statements
- 3.4 Questioning Without Interrogating
- Activity 3.4: Build a question funnel
- 3.5 Reframing Resistance
- Activity 3.5: Reframe responsibly
- 3.6 Responding With Evidence
- Activity 3.6: Match evidence to objections
- 3.7 Closing for a Clear Commitment
- Activity 3.7: Strengthen the commitment
- 3.8 The TaylorMade STEER Method
- Module 3 Applied Case Study
- Module 3 Practical Activities
- Module 3 Assignment: TaylorMade Objection Handling Toolkit
- Module 3 Knowledge Check
5

Module 4: Managing Expectations, Difficult Conversations and Balanced Outcomes
- Module 4 Purpose
- 4.1 Why Expectations Fail
- Activity 4.1: Expectation audit
- 4.2 Setting Expectations Properly
- Activity 4.2: Build a CLEAR Commitment
- 4.3 Delivering Unwelcome Messages
- Activity 4.3: Deliver the message
- 4.4 De-Escalating Difficult Behaviour
- Activity 4.4: Position-to-interest exercise
- 4.5 Negotiating Interests, Not Just Positions
- Activity 4.5: Test an agreement
- 4.6 Boundaries, Escalation and Exit
- 4.7 The Balanced Outcome Test
- 4.8 Confirming and Monitoring the Agreement
- Module 4 Applied Case Study
- Module 4 Practical Activities
- Module 4 Assignment: Balanced Conversation and Agreement Plan
- Module 4 Knowledge Check