Maryse Postlewaite is the founder of TLC Pathways, the platform for leading workshops in conflict resolution. In collaboration with the Kidpower International/Safetypowers production team, she created a self-paced on-line course. It includes live sessions, teaching videos, role-plays, and descriptions for over 30 interactive, fun, engaging activities. 

The keys featured in the Conflict Resolution Fundamentals course provide tools to build trust, to enhance communication, to broaden cooperation opportunities, to expand perspective-taking, and to understand the neuroscience underlying our thoughts and actions. Since advancing our skills takes practice, the year-long access to the course offers ample possibilities to do so.

Maryse has over 45 years experience as an international certified Montessori educator. She also has trained with Children’s Creative Response to Conflict, Positive Discipline, Kidpower, Mindfulness, and Cultivating Authentic Communication. 

Maryse has traveled internationally to share her knowledge from her experiences with mentoring, leading workshops, and teaching.

Maryse enjoys gardening, sailing, and spending time with her family. She believes in radical optimism and the extravagant power of gratitudes.

Not all conflict is loud. Some of it is a colleague who quietly stops including you, or a decision you can see going wrong but can't seem to influence. This week is about that harder-to-name conflict — the kind we tend to carry around instead of address.

I brought two real situations from listeners to Maryse Postlewaite, a conflict resolution educator with more than forty-five years of experience helping people handle hard conversations with heart.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

WHEN A PEER LEAVES YOU OFF THE EMAILS

What to do when someone quietly stops including you — and why the instinct to mention it sideways to other coworkers usually makes things worse.

ASSUME THE BEST BEFORE YOU ASSUME THE WORST

Maryse's practice of ruling out a simple misunderstanding first, and Claire's "Most Generous Interpretation" (a phrase she credits to Dr. Becky Kennedy).

VENTING VS. SOLVING

Why a trusted friend can help you either prepare for a conversation or realize you don't need to have one — and how that differs from gossiping at the water cooler.

A GENTLE WAY IN: BRIDGE, "I" STATEMENT, REQUEST

Maryse's pattern for opening a hard conversation — a genuine compliment, an honest feeling, and a clear request — plus why "maybe" and "perhaps" leave room for the other person.

WHEN IT'S YOUR BOSS

What changes when there's a power imbalance: checking your organization's protocols, approaching outside the heat of the moment, and asking questions that invite the other person in.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

Think of one thing at work that's been quietly bothering you — the invite that didn't come, the decision that didn't sit right — and before you do anything else, write down the most generous interpretation of it.

Not because it's necessarily the true one, but because naming it changes how you walk into the conversation. When you assume a simple oversight instead of a slight, your tone softens, your questions get more curious, and the person across from you is far more likely to meet you where you are. Then decide what outcome you actually want, and let that shape your first sentence.

Still feel stuck in a negative interpretation? Check out Episode 28: The Brave Choice that Transforms Relationships

Resources Mentioned:

• Episode 59: Claire's first conflict conversation with Maryse Postlewaite

• Episode 28: The Brave Choice that Transforms Relationships

• Episode 13: Emotional Contagion 

• Episode 74: The Language of Trust

• Dr. Becky Kennedy — the "Most Generous Interpretation"

•  Maryse's Conflict Resolution Fundamentals course (TLC Pathways, with Kidpower International/Safetypowers) 

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

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