Important Conversations

Strong professional relationships are based on trust and connection.Trust begins with a conversation – the kind that leaves you feeling like you got through.

Build the skills for productive and meaningful dialogue in a range of work contexts.

Difficult conversations

High-pressure work environments come with a range of difficult conversations – often involving giving and receiving feedback. Whether confronting a colleague or asking for a promotion, these interactions are challenging, and the stakes can feel high. Building a culture of candour and transparency takes work, and happens one interaction at a time.

This session offers an alternative to days of agonizing and dreading the conversation to come. Instead, participants can seize the opportunity to understand and practice a range of crucial interactions, receiving real-time feedback from a skilled practice coach. It’s a rare chance to explore some challenging conversations – in a risk-free setting.

Deepening client relationships

You’ve got a meeting with a prospect or an existing client. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate value as a trusted advisor. How can you help your existing clients beyond what you’re doing now? It all starts with asking great questions and deep listening.

This workshop will provide the framework and skills to expand business development conversations by asking effective – sometimes-tough – questions in a way that builds rapport with your clients and demonstrates your value. So that they can’t wait to meet with you again.


Prospecting Conversations

In sales, the only thing better than meeting with a prospect face-to-face is having a live phone conversation (texting doesn’t count!). Don’t wait for your social media efforts to magically deliver; the telephone is your best tool to connect in a meaningful way.

Through highly customized, realistic simulation, this program gives you the tools to connect, engage, and launch a great new relationship.


Women and wealth

As a financial advisor, you need to know your clients. But are you missing half the picture? Women make 80% of consumer spending decisions, are the primary breadwinners in 30% of households and hold $1 trillion in personal wealth. And women are leaving their advisors in droves, feeling that they are misunderstood or ignored.

Women’s concerns and needs are often different from those of men, as are their demands and expectations from advisors. This program is designed to support advisors, trust administrators, portfolio managers and private bankers in refining their approach to working with women.

As the Learning Manager, I value the sensitivity and empathy that the Open Line team brings in dealing with a very diverse group of learners. We consistently receive very positive feedback about the lasting impact and usefulness of the sessions on Difficult Conversations.

Sabina Michael

Rotman School of Management