Semester Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most
Sam Straus – Course Faculty
Sam will lead or co-teach eight sessions during the course.
Sam Straus is a Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School and Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he teaches the Negotiation Workshop and Fugitive Negotiation: Negotiating Power, Space, and Purpose with/in Institutions.
Sam consults organizations across industries seeking to improve communication, build more accountable relationships, and navigate conflict effectively. He specializes in helping intact teams navigate complex group dynamics and coaching leaders on driving organizational change. His clients have included financial consultants and investment firms, school administrations and associations, governmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, and family businesses. He has also served as a coach for PON’s executive education offerings.
Sam holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and B.S. in Management Science from the University of California San Diego.
Whitney Benns – Course Faculty Whitney will lead or co-teach four sessions during the course.
Whitney Benns is a Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School and Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She teaches the Negotiation Workshop and Fugitive Negotiation: Negotiating Power, Space, and Purpose with/in Institutions.
Whitney also has her own practice as a consultant, facilitator, and educator, working with individuals, organizations, and collectives to build communication and relationship capacity. Whitney works with clients across sectors, with an emphasis on education and social justice organizations. Whitney is committed to working to bring the potential of generative conflict, honest communication, and negotiation to relationships, teams, organizations, and communities.
Whitney holds a B.S. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Utah and J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a retired member of the Massachusetts Bar.
Sheila Heen – Special Guest
Sheila will lead a Q&A session during the last session of the course.
Sheila Heen is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School, a Founder of Triad Consulting, and co-author of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (with Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton; Penguin 3rd ed. 2023).
Sheila has spent the last 30 years with the Harvard Negotiation Project, writing, teaching, and creating theory for practitioners. She specializes in particularly difficult conversations, when emotions run high and relationships are strained. Her work with clients often focuses on executive teams, boards, non-profits, and multi-generational family businesses, helping them strengthen working relationships, have candid conversations, and make better decisions together.
Faculty: Sam Straus and Whitney Benns with special guest Sheila Heen
Enrollment: Register Now – Spring 2025!
Difficult Conversations, in both personal and professional conflicts, are an important part of the human experience – at times uncomfortable or painful. However, it is possible to learn how to manage a difficult conversation in a constructive way. From business partners and relationships with customers, clients, supplier and colleagues, to dynamics with family, friends, and members of our communities, the difficult conversations we do and don’t have cause lasting impactson all of our relationships.
In this interactive online course, you will learn frameworks, skills, and principles for how to have your most difficult conversations with more confidence, compassion, purpose, and effectiveness.
With peers from across the globe, you will learn to:
- Understand the structure of difficult conversations and conflicts
- Navigate differences in perspective when things go wrong
- Implement strategies for engaging with strong emotions and triggers
- Employ techniques for skillful assertion and purposeful listening
- Understand and manage power dynamics
The course will balance teaching concepts with numerous opportunities to apply what you have learned while participating in multiple simulations designed to enhance skills, demonstrate concepts, and provide opportunities to experiment.
Faculty: This course will be collaboratively led by Harvard Law School and Graduate School of Education faculty Sam Straus and Whitney Benns. In addition to theory and real-life examples introduced by course faculty from their practices, you will engage with ideas from the leading book on this subject: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Doug Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen.
During the final course session, you will also have the special opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with the author of Difficult Conversations and Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Sheila Heen.
Eligibility Requirements: PON seminars are open to participants from all disciplines and professional fields. Fluency in English is a must (suggested minimum TOEFL score 570).
Course Materials: Canvas will be used as the learning management platform. Digital materials will be provided to students.
Students will also be required to purchase Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Doug Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen (3rd edition 2023, if available, 2nd edition 2010 if necessary).
Location: Live sessions via Zoom.
Online Requirement: Students taking the course remotely are required to attend every live session via Zoom. Online students are expected to communicate regularly with instructors and classmates within the virtual classroom. In order to connect to class, students must have reliable internet access, a microphone, and speakers. Participants must meet the attendance requirements and complete the program evaluation to receive a certificate of completion.
Tuition: General Tuition: $2,497; Graduate Student Tuition: $1,997 (Currently enrolled, full time graduate students are eligible for a discounted rate.)
Certificate: When you complete your training program you will receive a certificate from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School signed by Program on Negotiation Executive Committee Chair, Professor Guhan Subramanian.
Enrollment: Register Now – Spring 2025!
For more information about our courses, registration, or eligibility for the Graduate Student tuition rate, please feel free to call us 1-800-391-8629 (Outside the U.S.: +1-301-528-2676), or email us at negotiation@law.harvard.edu.