Lesson 2 12 min

Communication and Conflict Resolution

Use AI to prepare for difficult conversations, resolve workplace conflicts, give constructive feedback, and communicate professionally under pressure.

Every workplace runs on communication. And the moments that define your career aren’t the routine emails — they’re the difficult conversations: giving feedback, pushing back on unreasonable requests, and resolving conflicts before they poison your work environment. AI makes you better at all of them.

The SBI Feedback Framework

Situation → Behavior → Impact

The SBI model turns vague complaints into specific, professional feedback. AI helps you construct each element:

Help me prepare feedback for a coworker using the SBI model:

Situation: [When and where did this happen?]
Behavior: [What specifically did they do or not do?]
Impact: [How did it affect the team, project, or you?]

Tone: [direct but kind / very gentle / firm]

Generate:
1. The SBI statement (3-4 sentences)
2. An opening line that sets a constructive tone
3. A follow-up question that invites their perspective
4. 3 likely responses they might give and how to handle each
5. A proposed solution or next step

Good vs. Bad Feedback

Bad (Vague, Personal)	Good (Specific, Behavioral)
“You’re always late”	“In the last 3 team meetings, you arrived 10-15 minutes after the start time”
“Your work is sloppy”	“The client report had 4 data errors in Section 2 that we caught after sending”
“You don’t care about the team”	“When you didn’t respond to the Slack thread for 2 days, the project stalled”

✅ Quick Check: Your manager asks you to provide written feedback about a struggling coworker for their performance review. You want to be honest but fair. What should you ask AI? (Answer: Ask AI to help you write feedback that’s specific, evidence-based, and balanced. Include concrete examples of both struggles AND strengths. Avoid generalizations like “always” or “never.” Structure it as: what they do well + specific areas for improvement + suggestions for how they could improve. Written feedback creates a permanent record — make sure it’s something you’d be comfortable with the coworker reading.)

Conflict Resolution

Preparing for a Difficult Conversation

Help me prepare for a difficult conversation:

Who: [relationship — coworker, manager, direct report, client]
What happened: [the situation causing conflict]
How I feel: [frustrated, disrespected, anxious, etc.]
What I want: [the ideal outcome of this conversation]
What I'm worried about: [what could go wrong]

Generate:
1. Opening statement that's collaborative, not confrontational
2. My key points (maximum 3 — focused and clear)
3. Questions to understand their perspective
4. Phrases to de-escalate if they get defensive
5. My BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement) —
   what I'll do if we can't resolve this
6. Closing statement that confirms next steps

De-Escalation Phrases

When conversations get heated, these phrases (AI can customize for your specific situation) keep things productive:

When They Say…	You Can Respond…
“You always do this!”	“I hear you’re frustrated. Can you give me a specific recent example so I can understand?”
“That’s not my problem”	“I understand it feels separate. Here’s how it connects to your work…”
“This is ridiculous”	“I can see this is upsetting. What would a fair solution look like to you?”
“You’re wrong”	“Help me understand your perspective — what am I missing?”

Role-Playing with AI

Role-play this conversation with me:

You play: [my coworker / my boss / HR representative]
Their personality: [defensive / dismissive / aggressive / passive]
The situation: [describe the conflict]

Start the conversation as if I just sat down to talk.
After each response I give, tell me:
- How realistic my response was
- What the other person is likely thinking
- Whether I'm moving toward or away from my goal
- A suggestion for improvement

Let's practice until I feel confident.

Professional Email Communication

Rewriting Emotional Emails

I need to send this email but I wrote it while frustrated.
Rewrite it to be professional and effective:

My draft: [paste your emotional draft]

Keep: The core message and facts
Remove: Emotional language, passive aggression, sarcasm
Add: Professional tone, clear action items, collaborative framing
Tone: [firm but professional / collaborative / assertive]

Practice Exercise

Think of one conflict or difficult situation at work right now — use the conversation preparation prompt to build your strategy
Rewrite a recent email you sent while frustrated using the emotional email rewrite prompt
Role-play a difficult conversation with AI for 5 minutes — notice how your responses improve with each round

Key Takeaways

The SBI model (Situation-Behavior-Impact) turns emotional complaints into professional feedback
Never respond to angry emails immediately — AI drafts calm, factual responses that de-escalate
Role-playing with AI before difficult conversations builds confidence and prepares you for pushback
De-escalation phrases redirect emotional conversations back to problem-solving
Written communication creates a permanent record — always run high-stakes emails through AI for tone check
The person who stays calm and specific in workplace conflicts always comes out ahead

Up Next

In the next lesson, you’ll learn salary negotiation — using AI to research your market value, build your case, and practice the conversation until you’re confident.

Knowledge Check

1. A coworker consistently misses deadlines that affect your work. You've mentioned it casually twice but nothing changed. What's the AI-assisted approach?

Complain to your manager immediately Use AI to prepare a direct but professional conversation. Draft a script using the SBI model: Situation ('When the Q3 reports were due Friday'), Behavior ('they arrived Tuesday'), Impact ('which delayed the client presentation by 3 days'). Then practice the conversation with AI playing the coworker, including defensive responses like 'I was busy' or 'It wasn't that late.' Walk in prepared for pushback Just do their work yourself to avoid conflict

2. You receive an angry email from a colleague accusing you of missing an important detail. You didn't miss it — they never sent you the information. How do you respond?

Reply immediately defending yourself with the same angry tone Wait. Then use AI to draft a calm, factual response. Something like: 'Thanks for flagging this. Looking at our email thread, I don't see where [specific information] was shared with me. Could you point me to it? Happy to address this as soon as I have it.' AI helps you respond without matching their emotional tone — which de-escalates the situation and puts the facts front and center Forward it to your manager and CC the whole team

3. You need to give negative feedback to a teammate who's also your friend. You're worried about damaging the friendship. How does AI help?

Skip the feedback — the friendship is more important AI helps you separate the behavior from the person. Draft feedback that's specific, kind, and actionable: 'I value our working relationship, which is why I want to be direct. In the last two presentations, the data sections had errors that clients noticed. Can we set up a review step before client-facing work?' AI can generate multiple versions — from very gentle to more direct — so you pick the tone that matches your friendship Have someone else deliver the feedback

Answer all questions to check

Complete the quiz above first