Dealing with Difficult People

HR staff deal with a variety of challenging people and situations which add significant and often disproportionate stress to their work and personal lives. These difficulties come in many shapes and sizes, including stubborn positional negotiators, emotionally distraught employees, aggressive behaviour (physical or verbal), and lying, misleading, or evasive people, to name but a few. Paul Godin, a mediator/negotiator/conflict coach with more than 15 years of experience teaching and practicing in the field of conflict resolution with the Stitt Feld Handy Group, will provide:

-a strategy for dealing with such situations and people
-a model for analyzing, preparing for, and engaging in these high conflict conversations
-a checklist of common challenges
-some core tools for responding to such challenges
-real world examples of the application of these principles.

We apologize, but the video recording was corrupted. We have recovered the audio and you can download the slide deck here and listen to the audio.

About Paul Godin

Paul D. Godin is a Toronto-based mediator, lawyer, negotiator, facilitator, trainer, banking ombudsman, and ADR systems designer at the Stitt Feld Handy Group/ADR Chambers. He has lectured in Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the University of Toronto, University of Oregon, and University of Windsor Law Schools and teaches contracting principles to project and contract managers. Paul has designed and led courses on ADR, Negotiation, and System Design worldwide for the general public and organizations including Qantas, BDO, Scotiabank, TD Bank, Hill & Knowlton, the Trade Union Congress of the Bahamas, Mattel, General Dynamics, INCO, YUM Brands, the judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago, Ontario Power Generation, Alliance Atlantis, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, AECON, AECL, the UN, the Governments of Canada, Australia, Bermuda, Ethiopia, Trinidad and Tobago and others.

Paul articled at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt in Toronto, and began practice in 1997. Prior to joining Stitt Feld Handy Group in 2001, he practiced law with the Toronto litigation boutique of Rogers Moore, gaining expertise in several areas of law. While at the University of Toronto, Paul was the International Bar Association Client Counseling Competition World Champion, as well as an award-winning mooter and varsity water polo player. He represented the University of Toronto with distinction in the ABA Negotiation Competition. Prior to law, Paul was a geologist, obtaining a B. A. (Anthropology) and a B.Sc. (Geology) with High Distinction from the University of Toronto, followed by two years of geology post-graduate work at the University of Southern California as a ‘NSERC 1967’ Scholar. He obtained his LL.B. in 1995 from the University of Toronto, where he was on the Dean’s List and a scholarship holder.

Paul has acted in many complex mediations and negotiations as litigator and mediator, appearing before the Ontario Courts, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario on matters of insurance coverage, commercial contracts, environmental issues, personal injury, professional liability, negligence, and accident benefits. Paul has been a Roster Mediator with ADR Chambers, ADR Chambers UK, the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program-Toronto, the Ontario Energy Board, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, D.I.A.N.D., ICOM/WIPO, and is designated as a Chartered Mediator by the ADR Institute of Canada. He has developed expertise in contract, labour relations and aboriginal issues. Paul is on the Ontario Bar Association’s ADR Section Executive and has played an active role on OBA task forces making recommendations on the Ontario Commercial Mediation Act, mandatory mediation rules, judicial mediation, employment law reform, and youth violence. Paul has authored peer-reviewed papers on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, mediation, negotiation, and geology. He is the author of the chapters ‘Principles of Negotiation’ and ‘A Practical Guide to Conflict Management System Design’ in the CCH ADR Practice Manual.