Interpersonal and communication skills

The ability to succinctly brief others is a highly valued competency in today’s fast-paced workplace. This expertise requires the speaker to clearly understand the issue, structure the briefing in a way that is easy to transmit, and deliver the message effectively. Participants will leave this interactive workshop with techniques, strategies, and tips for framing issues, focusing on what listeners remember, and presenting in a clear, concise manner.

Many people understandably dislike the concept of office politics since it brings to mind manipulation, questionable tactics and closed doors. Yet politics need not be dirty. In fact, an understanding of office politics is a critical element in gaining resources and information to do your job. To be effective in any organization, political skill is needed. Through facilitated discussion, exercises, role play and brainstorming, this workshop will show you how to reframe the concept of office politics into a positive force. You’ll discover how to use different types of power; work effectively with others; build influence; understand the political give-and-take of any organization; and maintain high integrity.

We use negotiating techniques in our everyday lives, sometimes without realizing it. In our professional lives, however, negotiating is a necessary and versatile skill. The ability to negotiate appropriately can be your edge in achieving success. Whether you’re dealing with colleagues, employees, senior management, prospects, clients or suppliers, you will achieve your goals more often by using powerful, appropriate and effective negotiating strategies and techniques. You will learn how to improve your negotiating skills with a clearer understanding of highly effective communication techniques. You will better understand the ins and outs of negotiation, and develop effective strategies, tactics and counter-measures for manipulative opponents. The workshop uses experiential methods allowing you apply what you have learned and practice your new skills in a variety of methodologies. These include role plays, case studies, personal skill analysis questionnaires, games and trainer-led discussions.

Conflict is a part of life. But well-managed conflict can produce benefits and positive changes, both in productivity and relationships. Communication skills, specifically the ability to communicate assertively, are among the best skills to acquire for dealing effectively with the demands of people in conflict with us, whether they are employees, colleagues, our managers or our clients. In the workplace, whether we are in a position of authority or not, we need to manage our interactions with people. We need to know what power is and how to use it: to negotiate, to express our ideas clearly so people will listen to us, even if they don’t agree with us; to stand up for our convictions, even when they are unpopular; and to deal with the emotions created by situations of conflict. At this workshop you will practice what you learn to enable you to apply the skills more readily when you return to your workplace. You are encouraged to bring examples of situations you would like to resolve. Please note:  There is an online assessment to be completed in advance of this workshop.  We ask that participants who register less than 48 hours before the session ensure they make time to complete their online assessment prior to workshop day.

The ability to communicate effectively at work and in life is perhaps the most critical skill for anyone. Those who have demonstrated an ability to effectively communicate are more likely to receive promotions and job offers.  Effective communication allows you to use all the other skills you have to the fullest. Your success in motivating, delegating, organizing, solving problems and obtaining information depends heavily on your ability to communicate with others. At this workshop you’ll learn how to influence and inform through the use of real life examples, group discussions, role plays and interactive hands-on exercises.

As workplaces become busier, and organizational change becomes the norm, the art of effective listening becomes all the more valuable. Good listeners find themselves involved in interesting work, healthy working relationships and long term career success. This is no coincidence. Effective listening skills are a large part of personal success in the workplace. The difference between hearing someone and listening to someone is enormous. Making colleagues feel that you are truly understanding not only their words but their personal point of view can change office dynamics in a profound way. Active listening has a way of making those you are communicating with feel valued and understood. In this highly interactive workshop participants can expect to not only learn the theory behind active listening but also to engage in participatory exercises and activities to practice the learned skill of active listening.

Designed for small groups, the workshop is led by an experienced public speaker who will entertain, inform and inspire you to deliver effective virtual and in-person presentations. Does speaking in front of a room of people make your heart beat faster, your hands sweat and your knees go weak? Would you like to master the art of public speaking? Do you want to have a greater impact on your audience? The impact we have is largely based on how well we communicate our ideas. Whether we are providing information to an internal audience or making an impassioned plea externally, we need to be confident in our ability to express ourselves. This two-day workshop is specifically designed to reduce the anxiety of public speaking and help you gain competence and confidence. Gain practical tips that you can apply immediately. You will participate in a number of different exercises and also have a chance to do a mini presentation and gain immediate feedback and coaching. If you are already an experienced presenter, please consult Advanced Presentation Skills.

Leaders are a diverse bunch. Somethings you report to them. sometimes they are leading your project. Sometimes they are leading your kids’ sports team or the place you volunteer. Some of these leaders naturally fit the way you want to follow, sometimes they don’t. adapting to different leadership styles is key to your motivation, performance, resilience and peace of mind. The instructor for this course trains, coaches and supports 2,000 plus leaders from every sector each year. He designed this program to help followers create a successful collaboration with the wide variety of leaders he works with.

Working with other alumni of the Managing Skills for Non Managers Level 1 program, you will identify and resolve your leadership, influencing, cooperation and accountability challenges. You’ll dive more deeply into the tools you acquired during your MSNM Level 1 program and apply them to resolving your challenges. Your workshop is rounded out with new tools to help you create better relationships and productive results.

Learn how to inspire, influence and motivate people to accomplish important goals – when you have no formal direct reporting authority over them. Managing people when they don’t report to you can be tough. How do you deliver feedback? How do you hold people accountable? How do you keep them on track? How do you arrive at consensus? How do you mediate conflict? In this highly interactive and practical workshop, you’ll get the skills and knowledge you need to help work colleagues perform at their best.

If you’ve ever had occasion to facilitation or lead a meeting, you probably understand how challenging it can be. Not only do you need to stick to the agenda, you need to manage group dynamics, and often, get everyone to agree on a decision. That is no easy task, especially when opinions and personalities conflict. Facilitation is part art and part science, and luckily, it is a skill that can be learned. Leading a group through the facilitation process- rather than controlling the meeting- will result in participants fully supporting and taking ownership of the outcomes. Ensuring that all have been heard and have an opportunity to voice their opinions reduces negative feedback and backlash afterwards. After all, most people will accept not getting their way, but will resent not having their say. Facilitation skills is one of the most important competencies professionals can develop for their career today. Meetings are unavoidable, and if you can manage them effectively and efficiently, you’ll be an asset to any organization. In this dynamic and practical facilitation course, participants will learn how to gather information from a group, clarify and present ideas, remain neutral when appropriate, and gain consensus. They will learn strategies to manage group dynamics, how to deal with a group that is “stuck, and techniques to keep energy high. Participants will practice their new skills in a safe and supportive environment.

Whether you’re delivering bad news, giving a negative performance evaluation, challenging a colleague or client, objecting to additional workload, presenting options in the midst of a crisis, or simply letting people know that the direction on a certain project is changing — communicating difficult subject matter can be an emotionally charged event. Understandably, many people would do anything to avoid that situation. Yet avoiding critical and difficult conversations or mishandling them can result in many negative consequences. Learn how being assertive, open, honest and fair in your critical conversations, and fostering others to do the same, can develop alignment and agreement within your organization. Encouraging open and honest dialogues around important, emotional, or risky topics – at any level – can significantly reduce and resolve conflict, nurture relationships and boost productivity and efficiency. This workshop is designed to help individuals, teams and organizations improve the way they approach their critical conversations, with confidence, and manage the conversation skillfully so that feelings are spared and the organization’s best interests are kept front and center.

Almost every organization has people whose personality, behaviour, attitude, work habits or other characteristics present an occasional or frequent challenge for those around them. this workshop will provide you with practical tools and skills to handle difficult people whether or not you have sufficient positional authority. In this course, you’ll learn to distinguish between various types of difficult behaviour, and chose responses that have a high probability of succeeding rather than escalating a difficult situation. Develop analytical skills, specialized communication, confronting skills, interpersonal negotiating, coaching, plus stress and conflict management strategies.

If you are looking for a presentation skills course that will challenge you and build upon your existing strengths, this course is for you. Delivered in a 1-day workshop format, this course is aimed at experienced speakers who wish to leverage their influencing skills and hone their authentic speaker style. Learn the various intangible elements that will enhance your desired outcome. Become more aware of yourself and your audience and how to connect with them so they want to listen to you. Participants will practice their skills in the presence of other advanced students and will gain valuable insight into their strengths and areas for development. Class size is small to ensure individual attention. Advance preparation: Participants are requested to bring one prepared 5-6-minute presentation to the course.

Being able to get along with co-workers and cooperate effectively towards the achievement of common goals is a highly valued key competency that can open the doors to increased responsibility and opportunities in your career. This workshop will give you the insight you need to better contribute to your team’s success. Using an 18 point personal assessment tool you’ll gain a better understanding of your individual team style and learn how to identify team strengths and trouble spots. You’ll learn valuable skills to transfer knowledge and information to other team members in an effective way to maximize productivity. You’ll also learn how to improve communication and build rapid rapport using the True Colors model.

Committees are an important procedural tool of Parliament at both the Senate and the House of Commons.  A committee is a working group that is established to review bills and existing legislation, and to study and evaluate government programs and policies.  As part of these studies individuals may be invited or they can request to appear before them, or present a written brief.  This workshop will provide you with the tools to effectively present at a parliamentary committee.

This one-day course is designed for anyone wanting to improve their oral communication skills in a non-threatening environment. Participants will work in plenary session, in small groups, and individually using hands-on techniques and material geared specifically to their work environment. You’ll briefly review the theory behind effective communication strategies and quickly move into applying this knowledge in a practical way. You will also learn the most effective ways of using PowerPoint and other visual aids as an outline tool.

This one-day course will help prepare you to develop a message and remain on topic when presenting that message to the media or public, without straying from the point, or points, you want to make. The final session will give you the opportunity to craft and hone a message of your own.

The foundation of personal and professional success lies in understanding oneself, understanding others, and realizing the impact our personalities have on others. The DISC Personality Test is a multi-purpose learning instrument that helps individuals assess to what degree they use each dimension of behaviour, in any given situation. DISC is a very simple and memorable model, made up of four basic personality types: D, I, S, and C. The goal of this workshop is not to change who you are, but to learn how to adapt your behaviour to the situation at hand. This enables us to to facilitate good communication and ensure the best possible interaction with others. Origins of DISC Both DISC Personality Profiles and Myers Briggs (MBTI) are based on the work of Carl Jung, the psychiatrist known for founding analytical psychology and for developing key personality concepts such as introversion and extroversion. DISC was further developed by William Moulton Marston, who divided the personalities into four quadrants along two axes. Interestingly, he also discovered that when people lie, their blood pressure changes. He was instrumental in the invention of the polygraph. Additionally, DISC and Myers Briggs (MBTI) both measure our “hard wired” behavioural styles – as in, how we behave naturally in our “comfort zone”.

The foundation of personal and professional success lies in understanding oneself, understanding others, and realizing the impact our personalities have on others. The DISC Personality Test is a multi-purpose learning instrument that helps individuals assess to what degree they use each dimension of behaviour, in any given situation. DISC is a very simple and memorable model, made up of four basic personality types: D, I, S, and C. The goal of this workshop is not to change who you are, but to learn how to adapt your behaviour to the situation at hand. This enables us to to facilitate good communication and ensure the best possible interaction with others. Origins of DISC Both DISC Personality Profiles and Myers Briggs (MBTI) are based on the work of Carl Jung, the psychiatrist known for founding analytical psychology and for developing key personality concepts such as introversion and extroversion. DISC was further developed by William Moulton Marston, who divided the personalities into four quadrants along two axes. Interestingly, he also discovered that when people lie, their blood pressure changes. He was instrumental in the invention of the polygraph. Additionally, DISC and Myers Briggs (MBTI) both measure our “hard wired” behavioural styles – as in, how we behave naturally in our “comfort zone”.

The ability to succinctly brief others in plain language is a highly valued competency in today’s fast-paced workplace. This expertise requires the writer and speaker to clearly understand the issue, structure their message in a way that is easy to comprehend, and deliver it effectively. Participants will learn how people read and listen today, how to plan and fine-tune effective briefings, and how to deliver them clearly and succinctly. They will also know how to put together and use effective decks that accompany these briefings. Participants will leave this interactive workshop with techniques, strategies, and tips for framing issues, focusing on what recipients remember, and presenting information in a clear, concise manner. Each participant will receive a detailed workbook that is theirs to keep.

Social media remains an evolving aspect of our daily lives in addition to being a part of our businesses. This two-day course is designed for people who have some familiarity with social media already. Participants will learn to develop a social media marketing plan as a part of their overall marketing strategy, determine who should be on their team, and choose how they will measure what is taking place. In addition, we will explore some of the major social media sites and look at how specialty sites and social media management tools can take their social media marketing to the next level.

Ce cours vise essentiellement à développer ou à rehausser vos capacités à créer et à donner avec confiance des présentations mémorables et faire passer efficacement vos messages à votre auditoire. Ce cours n’est pas une formation à PowerPoint. Cependant, ce logiciel sera utilisé comme médium de présentation durant le cours. Tous les participants vont préparer et faire deux présentations pendant le cours. Chaque présentation est centrée sur la création d’une technique spécifique. Après chaque ensemble de présentations, vous recevrez des commentaires structurés de la part de votre formateur et des autres participants. Pourquoi ce cours est-il unique? Ce cours utilise une méthode mise à l’épreuve qui vous permet d’acquérir des compétences efficaces en présentation de façon structurée. Vous apprendrez d’abord à repérer et à souligner les points principaux de votre présentation en utilisant des techniques interactives qui engagent votre auditoire.

Whether you’re delivering bad news, giving a negative performance evaluation, challenging a colleague or client, objecting to additional workload, presenting options in the midst of a crisis, or simply letting people know that the direction on a certain project is changing —- communicating difficult subject matter can be an emotionally charged event. Understandably, many people would do anything to avoid that situation. Yet avoiding difficult conversations or mishandling them can result in many negative consequences. This one-day workshop is designed to help you approach difficult conversations with confidence, and manage them skillfully so that feelings are spared and the organization’s best interests are kept front and centre.

L’art de la communication est de créer un impact et d’influencer les autres. Cet atelier vous propose des outils simples et efficaces pour communiquer en toute situation avec assurance. Vous allez découvrir votre propre style de communicateur, les étapes du processus de communication, la force de l’écoute empathique. La séance de formation est interactive et dynamique. Les exercices, les mises en situation et les études cas permettent de développer rapidement les aptitudes du participant. Simple à utiliser, le cahier du participant constitue un outil idéal pour revoir certains points dans le futur.

The English language is recognized as an essential business tool throughout the world. People who are learning English as a second language should be aware that even native English speakers can misunderstand the meaning and intent of communication in the workplace. Employees with intermediate competency in English as their second language will gain the most from this course.

In this one-day workshop class participants will examine, discuss and practice the skills necessary to organize and deliver persuasive and influential presentations. The course teaches three areas of presentation skills: the components of organizing a presentation the interpersonal components of delivering a presentation the technical components of several visual media You will learn practical skills that will have an immediate impact on your organization. You can expect a relaxed and non-threatening learning environment, and we limit class size to encourage maximum participation and feedback.

Collaboration is a skill that is utilized with one or more people to produce or create a result or shared goal. Everyone in the group has a shared vision or outcome. The group not only has to work together, they must think together, and the product comes from group effort. Collaborators are equal partners. Do we know what it takes to achieve successful collaboration with colleagues? What are the importance and benefits of collaboration in the workplace and how can employers create a collaborative environment and reward employees for collaborative efforts?

Your brand speaks for your company and its products and/or services. In today’s online-focused world, it’s important that your brand has a definitive, consistent, and responsive presence. Whether you’re looking to build a brand from scratch, or strengthen an existing brand, this course will help you build a brand using social media. We’ll cover how to build a social media strategy, identify social media platforms that fit your brand, craft strong messages that will engage your audience, and evaluate and revise your strategy.

Many people who have learned English as a Second Language find their language proficiency reaches a plateau. This often happens at an intermediate level and from there it becomes harder to increase language proficiency, especially when coping with job demands at the same time. You know English well enough to do your job but without increased proficiency you are not able to progress to higher levels of responsibility. In this one-day workshop we will explore some of the skills that can help to improve language proficiency. We consider the importance of vocabulary, grammar and the connection between language and culture as used in the workplace. We will also develop personal strategies to enable you to continue improving your English proficiency once the workshop has finished. This course is highly interactive with many opportunities to practise language skills in a positive, supportive environment.

Anger is a universal experience. Dogs get angry, bees get angry, and so do humans. You don’t have to be a psychologist to know that managing anger productively is something few individuals, organizations, and societies do well. Yet research tells us that those who do manage their anger at work are much more successful than those who don’t. The co-worker who can productively confront his teammate about his negative attitude increases his team’s chance of success as well as minimizes destructive conflicts. The customer service agent who can defuse the angry customer not only keeps her customers loyal but makes her own day less troublesome. This one-day workshop is designed to help give you and your organization that edge.