Custom Training — Communication Skills

· Power Presentations

· Win Support for Your Ideas

· The Last Word: Writing with Clarity at Work

· Manage Conflict/Difficult People

· The Power is in the Listening

· Increase Human Effectiveness

Power Presentations
Handling yourself in front of a group is a fundamental communication skill.

At some point in your career, you’ll be called on to do one of the following:

• Run a meeting
• Present a report
• Win support for a budget, project, or idea
• Propose a solution to a problem

Every time you present to a group, large or small, you will be judged, sometimes harshly, on your poise as well as your ability to organize material and connect with your audience. This course takes the fear and guesswork out of presenting to a group and prepares you to create a powerful presence in your company.

Who should take this two-day course?
Anyone who wants to take the guesswork out of:

• Connecting to audiences and winning their support.
• Organizing and adapting material to meet the needs of specific audiences.
• Managing nerves, no matter what the situation.
• Monitoring voice, body language, and gestures.
• Fielding tough questions with poise and confidence.
• Designing effective visuals and support material.

What makes this course different from other
presentation skills courses?

1. It is non-threatening. We keep the classes small so that participants get plenty of practice and feedback in a safe environment.

2. It yields immediate results. Participants receive
   videotapes of their presentations, a resource booklet, and follow-up coaching upon request.

3. Participants receive one-on-coaching. I meet with participant to address specific concerns.

Read the article, PowerPoint and Technical Presentations.

The Last Word: Writing with Clarity at Work
Take everything you’ve learned about business writing and throw it out.

What will I hear in this course that I haven’t heard before?

People no longer have time or tolerance for long, single-spaced reports and emails; yet, people still produce documents that are wordy, dense, and hard to read.

In this course you will learn how to:

• Format documents for clarity and conciseness.
• Chunk and label data so that readers can quickly skip, scan, locate, and retrieve information.
• Warm up corporate writing and make it human.
• Design power sentences and eliminate “writing demons.”
• Eliminate redundancies and common errors.

How does this course address the needs of a diverse audience?
I customize every course to meet client requirements.

1. I invite participants to send me samples of their writing.
2. I analyze each piece and produce a needs assessment based on what I learn.
3. I design the instructional manual based on the needs assessment and other guidelines I receive from the client.
4. I provide one-on-one coaching during and after the class.

NOTE: You will receive formatting techniques and writing templates that work for everyone, no matter what the writing level.

How long is the class?
It is up to the client, usually one or two days.

What follow-up support can we expect?
I remain available to all participants for follow-up support. I’ve worked with participants for months after the course until they have their writing formats in place.

The Power is in the Listening
“Discuss the undiscussable” without creating adversaries.

“I don’t listen, and I won’t listen.” It is the human condition and the root of all our communication problems. In this course you will learn how listening can create a powerful force in your organization as you

• Choose to listen in order to learn.
• Use the “Ladder of Inference”* to identify differences in perception and quickly get to the truth.
• Identify and eliminate filters that prevent effective listening.
• Manage frustration and conflict through “responsible responding.”
• Discuss the “undiscussable”* without creating adversaries.
  *Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
• Achieve trust and credibility through powerful listening.

Read the article, The Power is in the Listening.

Win Support for Your Ideas
Turn “no” into “maybe” and “maybe” into “yes.”

Lonnie complained, “I have ideas that would save this company millions, but no one pays attention to me.” Lonnie expected me to sympathize. Instead, I asked, “What do you do that causes people not to listen?” It didn’t occur to Lonnie to take ownership of this problem. In this course you will learn what to do more and less of in order to win support for your great ideas. You will receive a six-step process for influencing managers, peers, and direct reports:

• Turn “no” into “maybe” and “maybe” into “yes.”
• Address objections and overcome obstacles.
• Identify your communication styles and learn to flex to the styles of others.
• Play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
• Use the language of opportunity without offensive “happy talk.”

Manage Conflict
Confront Tough Issues
Deal with Difficult People
Depersonalize and turn conflict into opportunity.

We think of conflicts as problems and problems as bad. Conflict only becomes a problem when it becomes personal. Learn how to depersonalize and turn conflict into opportunities for growth and learning. In this course, you will:

• Manage conflict
• Confront tough issues
• Deal with difficult people
• Identify your own style of confronting issues.
• Depersonalize and deal with difficult people.
• Use specific tools for advocating an idea or opinion and inquiring into another’s point of view.
• Use a five-step guide for side-by-side problem solving.
• Maintain your poise and dignity when others are losing theirs.
• Maintain your confidence even when whose positions may be several steps above yours.”

Increase Human Effectiveness
See differences as opportunities rather than “flaws and affliction.”

“We perceive the differences in others as flaws and afflictions” (Keirsey/Bates, Please Understand Me). It’s hard to believe that certain people do not wake up in the morning with the sole purpose of annoying you. We click with some people and don't with others because we all have different ways of perceiving and ordering reality. In this course, you will learn your own communication and organizational styles as well as how to flex to the styles of others. You will

• See differences as opportunities rather than “flaws and afflictions.”
• Learn how to work with people whose style is vastly different from your own.
• Identify and manage your own counterproductive behaviors.
• Build on the diversity of your team members.