Interpersonal and Communication Skills

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.

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.

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.

Every workplace has behaviour that wears on people. Only some of it slows work down: meetings where people stop speaking up, handoffs that get missed, decisions that stall while a team silently works around one person. Most advice on how to deal with difficult people at work moves straight to what to say. This workshop starts a step earlier, with judgment: which work standard is being strained, what the pattern is costing, and whether this is yours to name, to raise, or to pause on. Designed for individual contributors and managers alike, it gives you a decision framework and tested language for resetting expectations without labelling anyone or overstepping your role. You leave able to tell disruption from discomfort, and able to say something clear about it.

Most professionals don’t think of their day as a negotiation, but it is. Every time priorities compete, deadlines shift, scope expands, or expectations are not fully aligned, a decision has to be made. When handled with a soft yes or unclear commitment, the impact often shows up later in rework, unspoken resentment, and avoidable escalation. This one-day course focuses on the everyday decisions that shape how work gets done. Using PMC Training’s MOVE framework, participants learn to define the outcome they need to protect, understand what may be driving the other side, identify realistic trade-offs, and build clear if/then agreements that prevent one-sided concessions. Through practical scenarios, including those with pushback and pressure, participants develop the judgment to respond deliberately instead of reacting. They leave better prepared to create clearer agreements, reduce rework, and protect their own capacity when the pressure is on.

Influence without authority is a daily reality for individual contributors who need to move work forward through people they do not formally manage. A request may depend on a peer’s input, a stakeholder’s decision, a partner’s handoff, or a colleague’s follow-through, and even when people intend to help, work can stall through vague asks, soft yeses, competing priorities, delayed replies, or unclear ownership. This course helps participants make clearer asks, test whether agreement is reliable, keep progress visible, and choose the right next move when work starts to slip. Participants leave with practical tools to get work done through others with more confidence, while organizations benefit from fewer delays, clearer handoffs, stronger follow-through, and less unnecessary escalation.

If you’ve ever had occasion to facilitate 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.

Knowing the material is not enough to make a presentation work. Presenters can lose their audience when they are unsure what to emphasize, struggle to organize the content, rely too heavily on slides, or let nerves affect how they speak and respond. This course gives participants the FRAME approach, a repeatable process for planning, organizing and delivering clear workplace presentations in virtual and in-person settings. Participants learn how to focus the result, shape the message for the audience, create an easy-to-follow route, reduce distractions, and deliver with effective voice, pace, presence and adaptability. Throughout the course, participants apply each stage of FRAME to their own short workplace presentation or a provided scenario. They practise key delivery techniques and test whether their message is clear and usable. Participants leave with a reliable method for future presentations, while their organizations benefit from clearer communication and better use of meeting time.

Presenting a recommendation requires more than sharing information. Decision-makers may question the evidence, challenge assumptions, raise competing priorities or hesitate to commit. Strong ideas can lose momentum when presenters are not ready for that scrutiny. This course gives participants the DRIVE approach for preparing and delivering recommendation-focused presentations. They learn to define the decision, map who can influence it, anticipate priorities and concerns, frame the case around what matters most, stress-test the recommendation, and respond to difficult questions without becoming defensive or losing direction. Throughout the course, they apply each stage to a short workplace recommendation or provided scenario. Participants leave better prepared to present recommendations clearly, respond when questioned, and move toward a decision or next step. Their organizations benefit from stronger proposals, more productive decision-making conversations, and less time lost to unclear asks, unresolved concerns and repeated follow-up.

Leaders come from diverse backgrounds. Sometimes you report to them, sometimes they lead your project, and sometimes they are in charge of your kids’ sports team or the place where you volunteer. Some leaders naturally align with your preferred style of following, while others do not. Adapting to different leadership styles is key to maintaining 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.

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 and how they feel 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.

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, group and paired exercises 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.