How to Become a Better Communicator

Learn the most valuable career skill of all: How to communicate effectively with people. Essential communication skills training for managers, supervisors, team leaders and others.

How you can increase the levels of collaboration and mutual support among team members, co-workers and managers

• How to express your ideas in ways that gain the attention, support and respect of others;
• How to quickly “fit in” with any group of people;
• How to make an unforgettable, positive first impression on anyone; and
• Much more.

Excellent interpersonal communication skills are the most potent career and personal skills you can possess. Learn how to communicate effectively and confidently with these practical and proven techniques and skills that are essential for managers, supervisors, team leaders … anyone interested in heading for the top!

Session 1: How to create rapport, build trust and establish your credibility

• Learn the secret to quickly establishing rapport and conversing easily with new acquaintances;
• Do others see you as trustworthy? How to ensure that your words and actions tell others; you’re a credible, reliable professional—a person who can be counted on;
• How to “break the ice” and get a good conversation going, even with a total stranger;
• How to be immediately accepted into any group of people even if you seem to have nothing in common with them;
• How are your mouth management skills? It’s vitally important to your credibility that you know how to keep confidences confidential and secrets secret;
• Concrete steps you can take to increase the level of trust, cooperation and support from your co-workers, employees and your boss;
• How to avoid sending contradictory or confusing signals about yourself;

Session 2: Making an impact—how to have power and influence with people

• Why it really does matter whether or not people like you—and how to make it happen;
• The 3 things you can give away that will return you the loyalty, devotion and friendship of others;
• A sure-fire way to make enemies—and how to avoid it;
• The secret of Socrates—how to get others to see your point of view with the gentle method that has worked wonders for more than 2,000 years;
• The 15 vital interpersonal skills shared by influential people—how do you measure up? and
• Understanding the 6 major components of personal charisma—and what you can do to further develop these qualities in yourself.

Session 3: Clear and assertive communication skills

• Never be put on the spot again! You’ll learn how to think on your feet when challenged with a difficult or negative question;
• Learn the steps of assertive communication that will put power and confidence in your words;
• Easy-to-use assertive listening techniques that will make all your communications more effective;
• Should you respond to a “put-down”? Yes! You’ll learn how to effectively handle put-downs, slurs and insults;
• Learn positive techniques for delivering constructive feedback to co-workers, employees, even the boss;
• When you’re on the receiving end—how to accept and learn from negative feedback without becoming hurt or angry; and
• How to handle it when you’re criticized in front of others

Session 4: Communicating with difficult people and in tough situations

• How to recognize the most difficult personality types and how to deal with each;
• The basic steps for dealing with all negative behavior;
• Special strategies to use when the difficult person is the boss;
• How to practice your new communication skills in low-risk situations;
• How to use a fail-safe strategy for keeping a disagreement from escalating into an argument;
• Understanding how your thinking style affects your ability to handle difficult people and situations;
• How to say “No” without feeling guilty or causing resentment;
• How to deal with your feelings of anger and helplessness when dealing with difficult people and unreasonable behavior; and
• How to handle malicious gossip and back-stabbing in a way that preserves your credibility and dignity.

Session 5: How to make an unforgettable, positive first impression-

• How to use the first 4 minutes to make a dynamite impression on anyone you meet.
• Learning how to correctly “set the stage” for every interaction.
• How you can avoid the most common blunders that create a negative impression.
• Recognizing the single biggest factor that determines whether or not people take you seriously, and
• 3 ways you can demonstrate that you’re a positive and self-confident professional

Session 6: Business etiquette—professional polish that shows

• The basic rules of business etiquette—ignore these at your peril;
• Recognizing and eliminating unconscious sexism from your speaking and writing;
• Business introductions—whom do you present to whom? Should you stand? What’s the most appropriate greeting;
• Important etiquette tips to remember when interacting with your boss;
• No matter where you work, there’s one point of protocol that you must know;
• How to handle the many etiquette questions that still arise about the sexes working together. Who pays for lunch? Who opens doors? What about shaking hands? You’ll learn up-to-date ways of dealing with these and other questions in ways that make everybody feel good.

WORKSHOP AGENDA
Program hours: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm