Under Pressure: How We Communicate When It Counts

When teams hit friction, a tense retro, a missed deadline, or a difficult stakeholder, most of us fall into communication patterns we didn't consciously choose. Virginia Satir called these coping stances, and recognising them is the first step toward something better. In this session, we'll explore the four stances, notice which ones show up for us under pressure, and begin practising a more grounded, honest way of communicating - what Satir called congruence. You'll leave with self-awareness you can use immediately and a lens for understanding what's really happening in your team conversations.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• Recognise the four Satir coping stances and identify which ones you tend toward under pressure
• Understand what congruence means and what it feels like as an alternative
• Know why its important
• Begin applying this awareness to real communication moments in your teams