Feedback and difficult conversations for managers
A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 8 details that are specific to your organisation.
- Length
- 45 min
- Lessons
- 6 lessons
- Frequency
- In a manager programme, and before the appraisal cycle
- Last reviewed
- 21 Oct 2026
You must tell a colleague their work missed the standard
Try it: this is one of 19 interactive activities in the course.
What's included
Three pieces that work together
Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.
Self-paced course
Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.
- 6 lessons, about 45 minutes
- Process, scenario, tabs, sorting activity and quizzes
Live session deck
An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.
- 10 slides
- Quiz, poll, scale, word cloud slides
- A closing slide for your contacts
Two surveys
Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.
- Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
- 30-day check-in
- Anonymous by default
- Results feed your next refresher
Learning objectives
At the end of this course, learners can
Each objective and the lesson that covers it.
| ID | Objective | Source | Where it's covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO 258.0 | Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment | - | Whole course |
| SO 258.1 | Explain why timely, specific feedback helps and why we avoid giving it | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 258.2 | Give feedback using a simple structure (situation, behaviour, impact) | Practitioner feedback models (see verification list) | Whole course |
| SO 258.3 | Prepare and open a difficult conversation calmly | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 258.4 | Run useful one-to-ones | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 258.5 | Know when a conversation becomes a formal HR matter and where to go + your info | Organisation's people policies; employer HR route | Whole course |
Your part: what a template can't do for you
- Your workplace details: fill in the 8 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
- Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.
Course outline
6 lessons, about 45 minutes
Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.
1Why we avoid feedback
3 pages
8 min
Why we avoid feedback
3 pages
2Feedback that lands
3 pages
8 min
Feedback that lands
3 pages
3Preparing a difficult conversation
3 pages
8 min
Preparing a difficult conversation
3 pages
4Grey areas: emotions, defensiveness and when to escalate
3 pages
8 min
Grey areas: emotions, defensiveness and when to escalate
3 pages
5One-to-ones that work
3 pages
8 min
One-to-ones that work
3 pages
6Your practice plan and the final assessment
2 pages
5 min
Your practice plan and the final assessment
2 pages
Live deck and surveys
10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop
Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
- Overall rating 5 stars
- Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
- What was most useful? multi-select
- Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
- Which step is hardest? multiple choice
- How confident are you handling a strong reaction? 1-5 scale
- Which course should come next? ranking
- I receive specific feedback from my manager. 1-5 scale
- One thing we should change or add open text
- Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
- Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
- How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
- Do you know where to find the feedback and one-to-one templates? yes / no / not sure
- A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
- Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking
Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.
Make it yours
8 fields to fill in, and you're ready
Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.
- Who managers ask about people questions
{{HR_CONTACT}} - Link to your people policies
{{PEOPLE_POLICY_LINK}} - The confidential route for raising a conduct or safety concern
{{SPEAK_UP_ROUTE}} - Link to the next course in your leadership path
{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}} - Where course completions are recorded
{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}} - Link to the self-paced course
{{COURSE_URL}}
Show all 8 fields
- Link to the baseline survey
{{SURVEY_1_URL}} - Link to the post-course and 30-day survey
{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
FAQ
Common questions
Can I run feedback and difficult conversations for managers training online?
Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.
How often is this training needed?
In a manager programme, and before the appraisal cycle.
Who needs this training?
Managers and team leads who give feedback, run one-to-ones or handle tension in the team; run by L&D with HR.
What records should I keep?
Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.
Can I edit the content?
Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.
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Ready to run it?
Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.