Polite, persuasive workplace conversations: Small talk, requests and respectful pushback
A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 5 details that are specific to your organisation.
- Length
- 35 min
- Lessons
- 6 lessons
- Frequency
- At onboarding for international teams
- Last reviewed
- 21 Oct 2026
A colleague says they were away
Try it: this is one of 16 interactive activities in the course.
What's included
Three pieces that work together
Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.
Self-paced course
Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.
- 6 lessons, about 35 minutes
- Scenario, sorting activity, process, flashcards and quizzes
Live session deck
An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.
- 10 slides
- Poll, quiz, word cloud, scale slides
- A closing slide for your contacts
Two surveys
Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.
- Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
- 30-day check-in
- Anonymous by default
- Results feed your next refresher
Learning objectives
At the end of this course, learners can
Each objective and the lesson that covers it.
| ID | Objective | Source | Where it's covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO 212.0 | Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment | - | Whole course |
| SO 212.1 | Compare blunt, polite and over-polite phrasing of the same request | CEFR Companion Volume (2020) pragmatic scales [source: report anchor, unverified] | Whole course |
| SO 212.2 | Use small talk to build trust | Business communication skill (none) | Whole course |
| SO 212.3 | Ask for help and clarify without losing face | Business communication skill (none) | Whole course |
| SO 212.4 | Disagree and say no politely with softening language | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 212.5 | Respond calmly to a mistake or a complaint | Best practice; employer's customer-care policy | Whole course |
Your part: what a template can't do for you
- Your workplace details: fill in the 5 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
- Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.
Course outline
6 lessons, about 35 minutes
Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.
1One email, three tones: which one gets a yes?
3 pages
8 min
One email, three tones: which one gets a yes?
3 pages
2Small talk that builds trust
2 pages
5 min
Small talk that builds trust
2 pages
3Asking for help and clarifying without losing face
2 pages
5 min
Asking for help and clarifying without losing face
2 pages
4Disagreeing and saying no politely
2 pages
5 min
Disagreeing and saying no politely
2 pages
5Handling mistakes, misunderstandings and complaints
2 pages
5 min
Handling mistakes, misunderstandings and complaints
2 pages
6Practice scenarios and a final assessment
3 pages
7 min
Practice scenarios and a final assessment
3 pages
Live deck and surveys
10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop
Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
- Overall rating 5 stars
- Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
- What was most useful? multi-select
- Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
- Which part is still unclear? multiple choice
- How comfortable are you now disagreeing politely? 1-5 scale
- Which situation will you try first? open text
- I feel able to say no or disagree at work without worrying. 1-5 scale
- One thing we should change or add open text
- Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
- Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
- How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
- Do you know where to find the practice phrases? yes / no / not sure
- A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
- Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking
Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.
Make it yours
5 fields to fill in, and you're ready
Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.
- Ld contact
{{LD_CONTACT}} - Company style guide link
{{COMPANY_STYLE_GUIDE_LINK}} - LMS or record system
{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}} - Survey 2 URL
{{SURVEY_2_URL}} - Course URL
{{COURSE_URL}}
FAQ
Common questions
Can I run polite, persuasive workplace conversations: Small talk, requests and respectful pushback training online?
Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.
How often is this training needed?
At onboarding for international teams, as a monthly conversation lab, and before a hybrid team starts working together.
Who needs this training?
Non-native English speakers who work with colleagues, clients or managers (B1 to C1), including remote and hybrid teams; run by L&D with HR and team leads.
What records should I keep?
Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.
Can I edit the content?
Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.
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Ready to run it?
Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.