A colleague questions your approach. Someone in your team responds differently than you expected. You feel the tension rising. Perhaps you become defensive, withdraw or respond more sharply than you intended. Before you consciously notice what is happening, a familiar reaction takes over. You lose some of the openness to listen, understand each other and find a way forward together.
No obligation · takes 15–30 min
"I want to become stronger in conversations, I often take the underdog position." That is how one participant wrote it down. Maybe you recognise this too:
When a conversation becomes tense, your brain often falls back on familiar responses. You may start defending your point of view, become more forceful or withdraw from the conversation.
You may become so focused on convincing the other person, defending yourself or avoiding tension that it becomes harder to stay open to their perspective.
And that is where a conversation can become difficult: not because you disagree, but because you lose the openness to really hear each other.
Staying open doesn't mean you have to agree with the other person or hold back what you think. It means being able to listen, express your own point of view and stay connected, even when a conversation becomes tense.
In BrainRouting, you train your brain to make alternative responses more accessible. Through measurements of brain activity and direct feedback, your brain practises responding differently, while your coach helps you recognise what happens in challenging conversations.
As a result, it becomes easier to stay present, remain open to another perspective and express what matters to you, without losing the connection.
Before starting BrainRouting, participants describe what they would like to change. Source: analysis of the self-written development goals of 106 Be More You participants (50 SME business owners, 25 directors, 31 managers), 2026.
They describe feeling affected by criticism or pushback.
They describe becoming impatient or short-tempered in challenging situations.
Among directors, this is the most frequently mentioned development theme.
You don't train conversation techniques, but a brain that has more room to respond, even when a conversation becomes tense.
During training, you may notice how quickly you become defensive, try to convince the other person or withdraw when tension arises.
Sensors continuously measure your brain activity, providing objective data throughout the training.
The screen opens or closes in response to your brain activity. Through repeated feedback, your brain learns to respond differently.
Through training and repetition, other responses become more accessible. You can stay open to another perspective without losing your own.
“I was always stuck in my head. Last night, for the first time in my life, my mind went quiet. It is as if I found a 'reset button'.”
See your automatic patterns in action
For people who want to understand what happens under pressure, without starting a larger programme straight away. In 1.5 hours, you see how your brain responds in the moment and discover how your automatic patterns work.
excluding VAT
Format
1-to-1
Duration
1.5 hours
Location
Driebergen
Investment
€ 395
How you respond in difficult conversations is an important part of personal leadership. Being able to express your own point of view while remaining open to others helps you build stronger connections.
Read more about Reacting under pressure, or explore our earlier articles on feedback and dealing with criticism as a manager, both in Dutch.
When criticism feels threatening, your brain can quickly fall back on a familiar protective response: defending yourself. That happens faster than you can consciously choose how to respond. Afterwards, you may know exactly how you would have liked to handle the conversation.
By letting your brain practise a response other than defending itself. When that response becomes more accessible, you have more room to listen, consider the other person's perspective and choose how you respond.
By practising a different response when tension arises. With direct feedback, your brain learns to respond differently, giving you more room to listen, express your own view and stay connected.
You don't have to agree to stay connected.
When feedback affects you, your mind may keep returning to it long after the conversation has ended. You replay what was said, question yourself or think of what you wish you had said.
Read also about overthinking.
No. You don't practise conversation techniques. You train what your brain does the moment a conversation gets tense, so your new routes are more accessible when you find yourself in a difficult conversation.
In a no-obligation introductory call, we explore what happens for you in the moments that matter, and whether BrainRouting could be a good next step.