High Impact Communication Skills

Introduction

Making things happen: Increasing your influence in meetings, negotiations, presentations, and in the office through calm, clear and confident communication.

Perhaps more than any other skill your ability to communicate confidently in a wide variety of situations can move you forward at work and increase your personal satisfaction and peace of mind.

Communication is generally considered a women’s forte. Women communicate more often, for longer and with more people than men. However, women’s strengths in their personal life can sometimes become an obstacle in their professional life. Most women undermine their credibility, confidence, and competence through ineffective communication habits.

This program is designed especially for women, to enable them to take advantage of their natural communication strengths whilst adapting strategies appropriate to the business environment. Course Outcomes how to communicate in a calm, confident, clear and competent manner; in meetings; in presentations; in negotiations; and win the co-operation, respect and trust of your colleagues.

Objectives

By the end of this course participants will;

• Know your personal communication strengths and weaknesses
• Increase your self-confidence and self-esteem
• Learn to express yourself with coolness, confidence, and clarity
• Improve your ability to influence others and get things done
• Learn how to handle difficult people and situations with grace
• Learn to say no and survive

Target Audience

• Anyone who feels improved communications skills will help them get ahead at work
• Are dependent on their interpersonal skills to get things done
• Are interested in developing their personal potential
• Anyone who feels they have more to offer their company but lack the confidence to present themselves and their ideas to others

Management & Leadership Outline

The course covers the following topics:

Self-Confident Communication

• What is self-confident communication?
• Recognize your communication strengths and weaknesses
• Why women adopt passive communication styles
• The difference between real confidence and aggression
• A self-test to determine how assertive you are now
• Practicing assertive behaviors in challenging situations
• Overcome obstacles to assertiveness skills for women
• Build and project a positive self-image
• How stress can ruin our communications
• Assessing your stress level and managing your stress reactions
• How to get over the need to be liked all the time
• Role models for confident women
• Self-esteem is the foundation of confident communication
• Self-belief and Self-confidence
• Knowing your rights

The Essentials of Assertive Communication

• Choosing words which convey power and confidence
• What does your voice say about you?
• Listening skills - seeking to understand before being understood
• The number one reason we don’t listen well
• Improve your concentration
• Physical assertiveness
• Dealing with people who invade your space
• How to read and use body language to your advantage
• Learn how to say no to additional work
• How to project a confident, professional image
• Essential assertiveness techniques
• Expressing yourself in meetings
• Getting your message across without being interrupted
• How to get people to take you seriously

Getting results - the art of negotiation

• Where can we use negotiation skills?
• Basic negotiation concepts
• Preparing for negotiation, understand yours and others needs and motivations
• Male and female style differences - what to watch out for
• Anticipating and preparing for challenges
• How to stay focused and avoid the trap of getting along instead of getting what you want
• Developing creative solutions and win-win options
• How to be fair without giving in
• The delay tactic
• Overcoming barriers to successful negotiations
• Reading non-verbal communications and hidden meanings in meetings
• Changing the climate - creating trust, support, and co-operation

Handling yourself professionally in difficult situations

• How to mentally prepare for a difficult confrontation
• Staying calm and in control of chaos
• Giving criticism or feedback to your equals and subordinates
• How to accept criticism without getting emotional
• Deciding on, sticking to, clear boundaries - being happy to defend your position, even if it provokes conflict
• Assertive confrontation - how to deal with issues instead of emotions
• Understanding and dealing with different personality types
• Dealing with bigoted behavior
• Using empathy to defuse aggressive people
• Specific techniques for dealing with lying, guilt trips and unreasonable requests
• How to avoid inconsistent behaviors that make it harder for you to set limits the next time

Presenting yourself with Calm, Confident Competence

• How to make presentations with confidence and power
• Overcoming the fear of public speaking
• Learn the essentials of planning a presentation
• How to hold the attention of a group
• Getting noticed and getting ahead through speaking up
• Painless methods for giving corrective feedback
• Best practices for delivering positive feedback
• Continuing Professional Development - where to go from here