Managing Difficult Conversations Using Adaptive Skills

27 March 2026

10:00 AM - 12:30 PM PT / 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET / 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM CET

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About the Course

The focus of the seminar is the importance of integrating Cultural Competence, Transparency, and Adaptivity into the practice of communicating with people, particularly where conflict presents challenges to productive dialogue. The seminar will be approximately 2.5 hours, and is designed to be interactive, with significant opportunities for engagement with the instructor and fellow participants.

Learning Objectives

• Being truly present is essential for a productive dialogue, and that calls upon us to see the person on the other side of the table as a human being, not an obstacle. It means being able to accept the right of the person on the other side of the table as having the right to their point of view. That respect is born out of transparency, which is more than honesty; it is a willingness to reveal oneself and an invitation to their party to do the same - being vulnerable.
• Cultural Competence is acknowledging that you cannot know the whole of what makes up the person on the other side of the table, and your willingness to learn. It is practicing humility and affectionate curiosity.
• A productive dialogue depends on the ability of the participants, particularly the process deliverer, to be Adaptive. Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

Instructor 

Ms. Jenny Besch, MA, has been teaching "Advanced Mediation - Basic Training and Advanced Mediation - Apprenticeship" at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies NECR program since 2007. In addition, she has been teaching the "Advanced Mediation in Bioethics" course for the Bioethics MS Program at Columbia University. She has also taught at Teachers College at Columbia. In addition to her teaching, Besch mediates in the private practice and has mediated community cases through various Community Dispute Resolution Centers in New York for many years. She served for 19 years as Director of the Westchester and Rockland Mediation Centers of CLUSTER, Inc.

She is a certified mediator, State Certified Trainer, and Part 146 State Certified Trainer with advanced training in community mediation, parent-child mediation, custody-visitation mediation, divorce mediation, child permanency mediation, lemon law arbitration, employment discrimination mediation, victim-offender mediation, and restorative justice group conferencing. She has served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, was a member of the Mid-Hudson Regional Youth Justice Team and the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, as well as EPIC, a noted parent effectiveness training and service organization.

Additional Details and Event Policies

Ombuds Online Seminars focus on emerging topics of interest to ombuds, while others teach diverse skillsets that can enhance an ombuds’ practice. Seminars allow for a deeper dive and more interactive experiential learning formats than a webinar. You can register for a live seminar, or you can purchase that seminar on demand. 

Professional Development Hours (PDH)

This course has been approved for 2.5 PDH. 

Closed Captioning and Languages for Online Courses

IOA is dedicated to making meetings and content more accessible. All IOA Live Seminars will offer closed captioning. This service will also be available for IOA committee meetings upon request. Participation for all is encouraged; if you have any questions, please email the IOA office at [email protected].

This course is presented in English. Captions are available in English by default. Individual participants may choose to see their captions translated into one of the following languages: Arabic, Bangla (beta), Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish (beta), Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French (France), German, Hebrew (beta), Hindi (beta), Hungarian,  Italian,  Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian (beta), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian (beta), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil (beta), Turkish, Ukrainian, or Vietnamese.

Cancellation Policy

Notification of cancellation must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected]. All cancellation requests received 21 days in advance of the event start date will be issued a refund, less a $10 USD processing fee. No refunds will be given thereafter except in the event of extenuating circumstances. Requests for registration cancellation must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected].

Substitute attendees will be permitted. Substitution requests must be in writing via email to [email protected] no later than two days before the event's start date. If you have any questions, please contact the office at [email protected].

Nonpayment Policy

Full payment of registration fees is required 7 days before the start of a course. If payment is not made before the start of the course, event details will not be released to you, and your registration may be canceled. The IOA office will contact registered individuals with a balance due before canceling their registration. If you have any questions, please contact the office at [email protected] or by phone at +1-206-209-5275.

Subject to Change or Cancellation

All IOA Courses are subject to change and/or cancellation. 

IOA asks that all registered attendees confirm system requirements and test their computers before the start of each virtual session. If the Zoom or other platform used experiences a failure that is beyond our control, IOA may reschedule the session. If an attendee experiences a technical failure on their end, and the session is being recorded, attendees may watch the recorded session.  If the session is not recorded, no refund will be issued.

Recording Acknowledgement

Each virtual session may be recorded. These recordings may be provided for later viewing and may be used for promotional purposes, advertising, and other print and online materials at the sole discretion of IOA. By registering for a virtual session, you consent to be recorded by IOA when attending live sessions.

Participant Agreement

IOA asks that all participants of any IOA course review the Organizational Values and Community Norms before attending. 

IOA Additional Policies

IOA Organizational Values & Community Norms