You face high-pressure conversations every day, from difficult discussions with families about care to crisis situations requiring calm authority to staff interactions where trust is built or broken in moments. This interactive session teaches the communication skills that professionals who perform under pressure use to succeed: projecting calm authority when you feel anxious, asking questions that invite honest dialogue and listening strategically to hear what people aren't saying out loud. Emmy Award-winning television anchor Christy McDonald brings 27 years of experience reading rooms, managing nerves on live camera, and asking questions that get to truth and she's teaching you how to do the same. Mixing stories from the anchor desk with live practice and the proven PAUSE framework for empathic listening, you'll walk away with immediately applicable techniques for your most challenging moments. This isn't theory, it's battle-tested skills for the people who power care. Come ready to participate, reflect, and transform how you show up when stakes are highest.

Nurse Learner Outcome: At the conclusion of this session, 80% of participants will self-report a knowledge gain in:

1. Techniques for projecting calm authority and managing nerves during high-pressure conversations
2. Strategic questioning methods that build trust and invite honest dialogue
3. The PAUSE framework for empathic listening to understand what is truly being communicated
4. Reading non-verbal cues and body language to adjust their communication approach in real time

Learner Objectives:

1. Identify three specific body language techniques that project calm authority in high-pressure conversations with families, staff, and regulatory bodies.
2. Apply strategic questioning methods to build trust and invite honest dialogue rather than defensive responses in difficult interactions.
3. Demonstrate the PAUSE framework for empathic listening (Pause, Acknowledge, Understand, Sense emotion, Explore support) to understand what is being communicated beyond words.
4. Analyze techniques for managing nerves and maintaining composure when delivering difficult news or navigating crisis situations.
5. Create an actionable plan for implementing presence, questioning, and listening techniques in daily leadership interactions.