Your 7 Step Prep for Difficult Conversations Guide
HANDLING DIFFICULT
CONVERSATIONS
For leaders, HR and teams:
Multi-award-winning speaker, trainer and coach helping organisations handle conflict, assertiveness and challenging conversations with confidence.
WHAT IS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION AT WORK?
A difficult conversation at work is any conversation where there’s emotional risk, disagreement, performance concerns, conflict, or fear of consequences.
Trusted by leaders from:
NATIONAL AWARDS:
DIFFICULT CONVERSAtIONS
are costing you
Leaders avoid them
Managers make them soft or indirect
Team leaders make them too blunt
The result?
Conflict, resentment, poor decisions, silos, underperformance, good staff suffering and careers stalled!
instead:
Clare teaches leaders how to handle difficult conversations clearly, calmly and confidently in simple steps!
how to work with clare
CONFERENCE SPEAKING
High-impact talks that give audiences practical tools for handling difficult conversations
TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS
Interactive leadership communication and assertiveness training
EXECUTIVE COACHING
1:1 coaching for leaders navigating complex people situations
⭐ 83% of customers state a significant increase in confidence in conversations for themselves / within their teams
⭐ 91% of clients book more than 5 events or programmes
⭐ 87% of participants and attendees rate services 4 or 5 stars (out of 5)
🟠 'Exactly what’s needed and when' 🟠 'It was incredibly useful' 🟠 'Didn’t feel scripted'
🟠 'I honestly left feeling taller' 🟠 'Expertly hand-held us'
🟠 'Exactly what’s needed and when' 🟠 'It was incredibly useful' 🟠 'Didn’t feel scripted' 🟠 'I honestly left feeling taller' 🟠 'Expertly hand-held us'
“Short/punchy sessions, engaging staff with tips to assist them on a daily basis in both their work environment and personal life.
Enthusiastic and creative, to the brief, tailored to delegates expectations - and with extremely positive feedback.”
“I didn’t want to lose being ‘me’. And I didn’t need to!
I’m incredibly grateful, because it’s almost been like a therapy session. It’s been nice to just hear someone’s independent thoughts, especially when I massively overthink things.
I’ve learned a lot . You just need a toolbox that you can rummage in and pull something out, depending on the situation.”
the practical framework
for handling
difficult conversations
simple steps
immediately actionable
NO scripts
⏬
Learn roles to play
Whilst still being yourself
And using the MISCHIEF METHOD™️ to make everything easier
ready to make difficult conversations easier?
frequently
asked
questions:
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Wildfire helps leaders, managers and teams handle difficult conversations at work with confidence, clarity and control. Founded by Clare Haynes, Wildfire delivers expert conference speaking, practical training and workshops, and executive coaching — all focused on the specific challenge of high-stakes, uncomfortable or avoided conversations in the workplace.
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Wildfire works with HR leaders, people managers, senior executives and teams across a wide range of sectors. Clients include organisations from the NHS, government departments, CIMA/AICPA, Lloyds Bank, Coca-Cola, Morrisons, GE and Sellafield, among many others.
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A difficult conversation at work is any conversation where there is emotional risk, disagreement, performance concerns, conflict, or fear of consequences. That includes performance conversations, feedback that won't land well, conflict between colleagues, challenging a senior leader, delivering bad news, or any situation where something important needs to be said but is being avoided.
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83% of customers report a significant increase in confidence — for themselves or within their teams. 87% of participants rate Wildfire's services four or five stars. 91% of clients book more than five events or programmes, reflecting the ongoing impact of the work.
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Wildfire's approach is built on practical frameworks — not scripts, not theory — that people can use the moment they walk out of the room. Clare Haynes draws on over 23 years of experience, qualifications in Psychology, NLP, coaching and trauma, and her own background in mixed martial arts to bring a distinctive, grounded perspective on the physiological and psychological dimensions of difficult conversations. Every session is tailored; nothing is off-the-shelf.
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Both. Wildfire works with organisations through conference speaking, leadership training programmes and team workshops, and with individuals through executive coaching. Coaching can also be combined with training and speaking for integrated programmes.
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Yes. Many clients come to Wildfire because they overthink, avoid conversations or lose confidence under pressure, especially when feeling they have to become something they’re not. Coaching and training are designed to help people communicate confidently without becoming aggressive or fake.
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Yes. Wildfire works with organisations across the UK through in-person and online speaking, training and coaching. Clients have offices outside of UK and a mix of video/online and face-to-face is typical for many programmes.
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You can book a call, enquire about training or discuss coaching directly through the website contact page. You can also phone, text or WhatsApp. It’s best to start by outlining the problem you’re hoping to fix.
