Communication and Influencing Skills

2 days

About The Course

It has been said that all business is a conversation, and that it is the ability of people at all levels in an organisation to create and maintain a rich conversation with each other and with other businesses that ultimately creates business success. That “conversation” relies on excellent communication skills. The best and most charismatic leaders are abundantly skilled communicators, able to coordinate and lead their teams because they create an environment in which others genuinely want to work. The best and most skilled coordinators are able to manage time, people and priorities, influence at all levels, and still display a sense of leadership which makes others want to follow them. Business in the 21st century puts far greater demands on companies than at any other time in history. First impressions are crucial, whether it be with friends, colleagues or customers. Creating instant rapport enables lasting and productive relationships. Get it wrong and that negative impact is extremely difficult to overcome. So, what are the techniques that top presenters, communicators and public speakers use in order to assure success? How do they ensure that initial interactions create a positive and memorable impression?

Who should attend

• Company Directors, Supervisors, First Line Managers, Project Managers and General Managers, HR professionals, Sales teams and anyone who will ever need to influence others, either socially or commercially
• Anyone who has to negotiate a successful outcome from any meeting, either in a business or in a personal setting

The Goals

By the end of the programme delegates will:

• Have raised their self-awareness to understand their strengths and skills gaps as leaders and coordinators
• Have learnt practical ways of addressing their skills gaps
• Understand the subjective experience of others and how to respond to it
• Be able to demonstrate advanced communication skills, both verbally and non-verbally
• Enhance their influencing and persuasion skills
• Understand the difference between listening and hearing
• Be able to coordinate people, events and projects with confidence
• Giving better presentations
• Making meetings worthwhile

The Process

The programme is carefully designed to address all styles of learning and to engage participants fully through the use of course materials, exercises, training videos and discussions of relevant organisational issues. Lectures and discussions are either preceded or followed by powerful individual or group exercises. These exercises provide opportunities for personal participation in real situations. During these exercises you discover that you can do what you are learning. This process makes the training fun filled, fast-paced, challenging and empowering. This programme uses the cutting edge skills of Neuro-Linguistic Programming to open your mind to how people think.

The Results

Tradition has it that leadership comes from hierarchical position. In reality, leadership is more a reflection of mindset, and natural leaders will emerge at all levels of an organisation. Delegates returning from this course will have developed an understanding of the mindset of the effective leader and learnt practical techniques to develop their coordination and leadership skills back in the workplace. Effective leadership and coordination boosts workplace morale and spawns productivity. Whether or not the delegates are considered “leaders” within their organisational hierarchy, their ability to coordinate events, people and projects will have significant impact on the productivity both of the delegates and of their teams.

Core Competencies

• Enhanced communication skills both business and personal
• Influencing and persuasion
• Personal impact and influence
• NLP
• Emotional Intelligence

Course Content

Day One

Understanding Communication

• Communication requires care
• Connecting with people
  • Technology
  • Time intensity
  • Diversity
  • Liability
• ABC of constructive communication
• Managing perceptions
• Frame of reference factors
• Choosing words with care
• Controlling your voice
• Conveying visually
  • How NLP can help
  • Emotional Intelligence
• Understanding differences
• Types of communicators
  • Movers and shakers
  • Narrators
  • Care givers
  • Map makers
• Thought patterns
• Using profiling wisely
• Connecting with employees
• Act, look, Listen
• Giving good communication
  • Planning
  • Communicating
  • Feedback
• Correcting and praising
• Giving feedback
• Dealing with disturbances
• Managing aggression
• Helping passive communicators
• Resolving conflicts
• Handling meetings
• Giving presentations

Day Two

Communication to Influence

• Power of influence
• Empathy + Sincerity = Persuasion
• Intrapersonal intelligence
• Interpersonal intelligence
• Being a good listener
• Speaking and thinking
• Overcoming bad habits
• Giving attention
• Body language
• Paralanguage
• 7-38-55
• Spatial relationships
• 9 techniques of influencing
• 8 ways to get what you want

Course will be interactive involving case studies and role plays.