Full course description
Build confidence in navigating tough conversations with practical, repeatable tools.
About the Program
This hands-on training introduces practical tools for leading difficult conversations with confidence and clarity. You’ll learn to understand what’s happening “beneath the surface” in groups and meetings—why tensions arise, where conversations get stuck, and what supports more grounded, skillful dialogue.
Key Takeaways:
- Simple, repeatable tools for reading group dynamics
- Techniques for inviting quieter voices—even in polarized discussions
- Strategies for working with disagreement and facilitating decisions people can stand behind
The program combines 1.5 days in person with 3 hours online, giving participants immersive practice and time to integrate tools into real workplace situations.
Why This Matters
Whether you’re supporting faculty teams, managing staff, engaging students, or leading change initiatives, this training offers concrete skills for navigating polarization, engaging conflict early, and turning tension into opportunities for insight, creativity, and better working relationships.
Approach
Based on the Lewis Deep Democracy method, this course is experiential and accessible:
- No role plays, no scripts
- You choose your level of participation
- Structured methods that make space for multiple perspectives while maintaining boundaries
Facilitator
Camille Dumond is a group facilitator, mediator, and conflict coach who helps teams engage in conversations that matter. Her approach draws on depth psychology, neuroscience, and alternative dispute resolution, cultivating dialogue that feels integrated, humane, and capable of holding both belonging and difference.
Camille holds graduate degrees in Adult Education, Counselling Psychology, and Process-Oriented Conflict Facilitation. She is a CINERGY-trained conflict coach and a certified Lewis Deep Democracy Level 1–3 trainer.
Schedule:
- Feb 25: Full Day (8:45 AM – 4:00 PM)
- Feb 26: Half Day (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
- Mar 5: Half Day -Virtual Session (9:00 AM – 12 PM)
Fee:
- $150 (Human Resources has partially subsidized the fees to enhance accessibility.)
- PD Fund Eligible: As per UBC PD Fund policy, expenses must be claimed within 90 days of purchase. If your current PD Fund limit is exhausted, you can claim the expense from next year’s PD Fund, provided it falls within the 90-day window. For more information, please visit PD Funding.
- Register by Feb 4th to secure your spot as seats are limited.
This workshop is put on by UBCO Human Resources | Workplace Learning & Engagement and is open to UBCO faculty and staff. For questions, contact Shweta Jaiswal Thakur.