All courses Leadership & career

The Courageous Communicator

4.8 (36)

5 Days

Cohort-based Course

How to speak up about anything, at work and beyond.

The Courageous Communicator

4.8 (36)

5 Days

Cohort-based Course

How to speak up about anything, at work and beyond.

Hosted by

Jenna Buffaloe, J.D., M.A.

Harvard-trained lawyer, 18 years experience as Leadership Coach.

Jenna Buffaloe, J.D., M.A.

Harvard-trained lawyer, 18 years experience as Leadership Coach.

Course overview

Suffer less. Have better relationships. Get more done.

These are all the things that are possible when you learn to have hard conversations that are both honest (from your perspective) and also genuinely caring of the person you are speaking to. Relying on the Lao Tzu principal that, “The best way to do is to be," the first half of the workshop focuses on shifting essential mindsets before mapping out the speaking and listening required for better conversations, better relationships, and better results at work and beyond. The end-result is a step-by-step system for how to untangle one’s thinking, speak up, and listen to understand.

Who this course is for

Anyone who wants to suffer less and feel more freedom around difficult situations and conversations

Anyone who finds themselves ruminating or worrying about things they are thinking but don't know how to say

Anyone who has no problem speaking their mind, but often gets feedback that they can be too blunt or even harsh

Anyone who wants to suffer less and feel more freedom around difficult situations and conversations

Anyone who finds themselves ruminating or worrying about things they are thinking but don't know how to say

Anyone who has no problem speaking their mind, but often gets feedback that they can be too blunt or even harsh

What you’ll get out of this course

A step-by-step framework for how to untangle your thinking, speak up about anything, and listen to understand

Confidence to speak up about anything important in a way that’s clear, sincere, caring, and aligned with your values.

Stronger relationships and healthier team/organizational cultures

Increased individual awareness, productivity, happiness and wellbeing.

This course includes

6 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

In-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

Projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Aug 26—Aug 30

Aug

Optional: Meet & Greet

Mon 8/264:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Optional

Aug

Session 1

Tue 8/274:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Aug

Session 2

Wed 8/284:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Aug

Session 3

Thu 8/294:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Aug

Optional: Q&A

Fri 8/304:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Optional

Post-course

Sep

Optional: One month check in

Fri 9/274:30 PM—5:30 PM (UTC)

Optional

4.8 (36 ratings)

What students are saying

Testimonials

If you (or anyone you know!) want to learn how to have a hard conversation, I highly recommend Jenna Buffaloe's Courageous Communicator workshop. She is a giant of truth and kindness, and her classes are transformative.

Lauren Workman

Revenue Operations, OpenAI

Almost everyone has important things on their mind that feel overwhelming, confusing, and tangled up in a messy mix of thoughts, feelings, and assumptions. If you're looking to learn skills that will allow you to untangle these thoughts, help you gain clarity, and provide you with a framework for speaking up, then I highly recommend this class.

Jami Zakem

Executive Coach, former Customer Success executive, Eventbrite & Yelp

A brilliant mind with a kind heart, Jenna is one of the best coaches I know.

Fred Kofman

Author of Conscious Business: Building Value through Values

This was my second time going through this course and still I felt like I came out of it a better communicator than before. Part of Jenna's magic is that she helps people step outside their own perspective and engage in difficult conversations with curiosity and empathy. I can't recommend this course enough!

Brittany Storey

Executive Coach, former Learning & Development, Stripe

Jenna has been a cultural beacon for us at Headspace. Every single person here attends her course, and it’s been a game changer for us. I couldn’t think of a better person to partner with when it comes to the human side of creating high performing cultures."

Rich Pearson

Founder and Former CEO, Headspace

Jenna is one of the most intelligent and powerful facilitators I know. The content is meaningful, gets the tough stuff on the table, and creates a collective sigh of relief as people realize they can be totally honest and totally kind at the same time. To align one’s values with one’s words is priceless.

Durand Duin

Former Head of Employee Experience, Stripe

"Jenna's class is one of the most impactful trainings I have been to and has helped me tremendously both personally and professionally. Her phrase "I want to suffer less" is something I think about (and try to live by) often."

Danielle Merida

General Counsel & Head of People, Shef

Those who know me know that I've not always been an enthusiastic advocate of workplace training. However, there was one course I took that absolutely won me over. If your company offers an educational stipend, you could not spend it better than on this. It might just change the trajectory of your career. It did mine.

William Fowler

Creative Director, Customer Journeys, Apple

Jenna was recommended to me by a number of HR professionals I highly respect and I was not disappointed. The program she facilitated helped us have very direct and often uncomfortable conversations in a way that promoted respect and positive intent. Jenna’s unique facilitation style balanced warmth and vulnerability with real grit and directness.

Helen Russell

Chief People Officer, Rivian

I took a version of this course almost 10 years ago and I never stopped thinking about it. It was the first time I truly saw what could become available to people, company cultures, and organizations if conscious communication was intentionally practiced in the workplace. For those of you who value freedom and authenticity, I highly recommend!

Sheena Vega

Product Marketing Director, Olivine | Formerly Salesforce

So much of successful therapy comes down to communication. Asking yourself, “What is my truth? How can I communicate that in a way that the other person can hear?” Learning to speak up about your needs, set boundaries, and also be curious about what it’s like to be the other person is a game changer. I'm recommending this class to all my clients.

Katie Heitzler

Licensed Professional Counselor

Meet your instructor

Jenna Buffaloe, J.D., M.A.

Speaker, Workshop Leader and Executive Coach

I began my career as a lawyer and later went back to school to study Jungian psychology. In 2005, I entered the field of executive coaching and leadership development.

My passion is teaching people how to have hard conversations in ways that make relationships stronger. I believe this is the foundation for organizational success as well as individual thriving. My mission is to change the belief that this should be obvious or intuitive. The bad news is that it usually isn't. The good news is that - like math or coding skills or anything else - it can be taught. And learning this skill is often a game changer, both personally and professionally.

I've worked with many clients in the U.S. and internationally, including LinkedIn, Stripe, Google, Headspace, and OpenAI. I have a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University, a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.

If you want to read more, you can find the Unofficial Bio here: https://www.jennabuffaloe.com/about/