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Difficult Conversations: How to Have Them and Keep Relationships Intact

Difficult Conversations: How to Have Them and Keep Relationships Intact

Sarah Farmer

 

Sarah Farmer is a Global Executive Coach, author, and founder of Bright & Brilliant Ltd., a leadership development firm specialising in supporting C-suite executives, leadership teams, emerging senior leaders, and business owners.

With a degree in Applied Chemistry and a lifelong interest in psychology and human behaviour—sparked early on by exposure to her mother’s work as a psychologist—Sarah combines analytical rigour with deep insight into what drives people. Her coaching is grounded in a practical understanding of how the brain works, helping leaders manage themselves more effectively and create lasting behavioural change in others.

 

  • Recording: Yes
  • Language: English
  • Duration: 45 min / 15 min

 

More about this speaker

  • Session Summary

    Imagine walking into a difficult conversation feeling calm, prepared and genuinely confident, not bracing for disaster, not second-guessing yourself, not lying awake the night before rehearsing what might go wrong.

    Most people procrastinate, avoid or worry excessively about difficult conversations because they’re scared of the fallout, the reaction, the awkwardness, the potential damage to the relationship. This comes with a very real cost: stress, sleepless nights, frustration, underperformance, strained relationships and a growing sense that you’re not operating at the level you know you’re capable of.

    The ripple effect of leaving the issues to ‘fester’ can be huge.

    When leaders dodge hard conversations, teams drift, expectations blur, performance slips & trust erodes. Everyone feels it, and business results eventually show it.

    The good news?

    Once you understand the neuroscience behind why your brain resists these conversations and you learn a simple, effective structure to guide them, everything changes.

    You stop spiralling.

    You stop avoiding.

    You start leading.

    This fast-paced, practical masterclass gives you the exact tools you need to approach any difficult conversation with clarity, confidence and emotional control, while protecting the relationship.

  • Interaction

    During the expert session, Sarah Farmer engages the audience through visuals, interactive Q&A, and live polling.

  • Key Learnings

    • What makes a conversation 'difficult': Why your brain fights you every step of the way.
    • How to lead & control yourself before and during your conversation: Simple neuroscience-backed mindset tools to reduce fear, increase emotional control and help you show up confidently and competently.
    • How to prepare the 'reciever' for an effective conversation.
  • Detailed session description

    Imagine walking into a difficult conversation feeling calm, prepared and genuinely confident, not bracing for disaster, not second-guessing yourself, not lying awake the night before rehearsing what might go wrong.

    Most people procrastinate, avoid or worry excessively about difficult conversations because they’re scared of the fallout, the reaction, the awkwardness, the potential damage to the relationship. This comes with a very real cost: stress, sleepless nights, frustration, underperformance, strained relationships and a growing sense that you’re not operating at the level you know you’re capable of.

    The ripple effect of leaving the issues to ‘fester’ can be huge.

    When leaders dodge hard conversations, teams drift, expectations blur, performance slips & trust erodes. Everyone feels it, and business results eventually show it.

    The good news?

    Once you understand the neuroscience behind why your brain resists these conversations and you learn a simple, effective structure to guide them, everything changes.

    You stop spiralling.

    You stop avoiding.

    You start leading.

    This fast-paced, practical masterclass gives you the exact tools you need to approach any difficult conversation with clarity, confidence and emotional control, while protecting the relationship

  • Other Sessions by this Speaker

    From Imposter to Empowered: Ditch self-doubt and live a life without limits

    At the heart of bold decisions and breakthrough results is a confident, emotionally intelligent inner world. When self-doubt takes over, even high performers hesitate, hold back, or undermine their own success, and that ripple effect can shape team culture and business results. This fast-paced masterclass breaks down what Imposter Syndrome really is (and isn’t), why it affects top talent the most, and how it shows up in everyday behaviours. You’ll leave with a practical “brain-rewiring” technique from SPARK Step 3 to shift your thinking, strengthen your confidence, and take stronger, more decisive actions. 

     

    Change & the Brain: How to Lead People Effectively Through Uncertainty

    Leading people through change becomes easier when leaders understand how the human brain reacts to uncertainty. Change disrupts safety, predictability and control, putting the brain on high alert. These reactions are not resistance but natural neuroscience. When leaders understand this, they can anticipate responses, interpret behaviours more accurately and support people with less stress. This practical masterclass explains how the brain deals with uncertainty and how to guide people through transitions effectively.

     

    Communicating Change: Increase Trust and Reduce Fear

    When change occurs, communication can either calm people or create panic. Leaders often focus on what is changing rather than on how people emotionally and psychologically experience it. Humans don’t resist change itself; we fear the unknown, triggering protective responses like fight, flight, freeze or fawn. This reaction can last from seconds to years but improves when core needs — Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness — are supported. When communication fails, the brain fills gaps with fear-driven thoughts. When it succeeds, trust increases, resistance falls and people adapt faster. This masterclass shows how to communicate change clearly and safely.

     

     

    Fearless & Female: Improve Executive Presence - Lead with Impact

     

    Highly capable women often hesitate at key moments at work, not due to a lack of ability or confidence, but because they are navigating multiple expectations, responsibilities, and pressures simultaneously. This constant mental load can lead to overthinking, second-guessing, and delayed decision-making, particularly in high-stakes or high-visibility situations. This International Women’s Day session explores why overthinking is so prevalent for women in the workplace, how it affects confidence, executive presence, and leadership impact, and what practical strategies women can use to think more clearly and act decisively under pressure. Participants will gain insight into how to reduce mental overload, strengthen self-trust, and lead with greater clarity and effectiveness in complex environments.

     

  • Reviews

     

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