Join us for fresh thinking on difficult and polarised workplace conversations and what they mean for internal communication professionals.

Some conversations in the workplace are harder than others. Not performance reviews or pay, but the moments where belief, identity or generational difference shifts the atmosphere and the usual approach runs out. Our IC Index 2026 found that only 49% of employees feel safe sharing an opinion without fear. That is not a data problem. It is a conversation problem. 

The new IOIC discussion paper Polar Opposites, written by three leading experts, explores why these conversations feel so charged, what gets in the way and what genuinely helps. It examines psychological safety not as a buzzword but as something that has to be built deliberately, from the boardroom to the middle manager. It looks at the role storytelling plays in shifting culture, why the IC and HR relationship is so critical and how concepts like Acceptance Without Understanding can give practitioners a real framework for navigating the messy middle.

Neil Hopkins, Communications Consultant, and IOIC President Dominic Walters will unpack the paper’s findings, share what works, what does not and what internal communicators can do right now to create environments where real conversations can take place.

What you’ll gain

• Insight into what makes charged and polarised conversations so difficult and what genuinely changes the conditions around them
• A clearer understanding of psychological safety in practice, including the role of middle managers
• Practical frameworks you can take back into your organisation, including approaches to storytelling, measurement and the IC and HR relationship
• Greater confidence to position your work as strategically valuable
• The opportunity to ask questions and connect with your peers

Who it’s for

Designed for internal communication professionals at all career stages who want to sharpen their thinking, strengthen their capability and develop confident, effective practice.

CPD

Worth 2 CPD points.

Access and recording

This event will take place on Zoom. Once you have booked, the link to join will be in your confirmation email, or alternatively log into your website account, go to My account > Dashboard > Bookings > View Booking > Join Zoom meeting. Sessions will be recorded, sent to all those who registered and placed on Insight and Practice.