Communication and Listening
- Improving Your Listening Skills
- Advanced Listening Skills
- Difficult Conversations
- No-Fail Email
- Feedback That Works!
- Enneagram: 9 Ways of Working Smarter
Improving Your Listening Skills
Good listening is an active process and a skill that must be learned. This course provides tools to improve listening skills in every situation.
You will learn to:
- Recognize how the listening process works
- Identify several barriers that block accurate comprehension
- Use reflection and questions to confirm your understanding
- Assess the impact of non-verbal language on the listening process
- Use empathetic listening to acknowledge and respond appropriately to emotions
- Recognize the value of listening as an effective communication tool
- Review and use different levels of “reflecting content” to verify your comprehension
You will benefit by:
- Improving interpersonal relationships at work or elsewhere
- Increasing your knowledge through effective listening
Audience:
All staff interested in gaining or improving fundamental listening skills
Schedule Selection(s) |
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Cost: $139 |
Dates: Tue. 9/30/08 |
| Dates: Wed. 1/14/09 Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Code: CLC905 |
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| Dates: Thu. 5/28/09 Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Code: CLC906 |
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Advanced Listening Skills
This course is a continuation of Improving Your Listening Skills and is designed for those who have already learned the basics of effective listening. Using their personal work experiences, participants will have the opportunity to further practice and refine their listening skills in a safe and supportive environment.
You will learn to:
- Recognize how personal biases shape a person’s listening ability
- Practice overcoming your personal biases to listen more effectively
- Assess how your listening skills have been influenced by family and life experiences
- Use a strategic communication model for better listening
- Utilize different listening techniques to solve various problems
You will benefit by:
- Gaining confidence in the use of effective listening techniques
- Recognizing when listening is more effective than talking
- Showing greater support to your staff and colleagues
Audience:
All staff members who have taken basic listening courses and want to maximize their listening skills and improve interpersonal relations
Schedule Selection(s) |
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Cost: $139 |
Dates: Wed. 4/15/09 |
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Difficult Conversations
Using the popular book, Difficult Conversations, this class will explore the elements of difficult conversations, along with ways to make them less stressful and more productive.
You will learn to:
- Shift to a learning stance in order to understand the other person’s position
- Examine your assumptions about the situation
- Recognize the part we each play in difficult conversations
- Analyze the best way to address the issue
- Express yourself clearly and powerfully
You will benefit by:
- Lowering your anxiety while holding a “difficult conversation”
- Learning innovative techniques for better communication
- Practicing new communication skills
Audience:
All staff members who would like to improve their ability to manage challenging communication issues
Course Preparation:
Participants must read Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen prior to class. A copy of the book is included in the cost of this class and will be sent out before the course date.
Schedule Selection(s) |
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Cost: $149 |
Dates: Thu. 1/22/09 |
| Dates: Wed. 6/3/09 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Code: CLC902 |
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No-Fail Email
Email has become the most commonly used form of communication in the workplace; it is also the most frequently misunderstood. Learn how to use email to enhance, not sabotage, your communication.
You will learn to:
- Compose clear and concise messages to enhance your readers’ comprehension
Identify “hot buttons” and avoid using them when sending email - Recognize and use proper email “etiquette”
- Determine when to use and NOT to use email to communicate
You will benefit by:
- Improving your productivity
- Gaining control over your email inbox and limiting interruptions
- Upgrading your communication and professional image
Audience:
Anyone interested in using email to communicate more effectively
Schedule Selection(s) |
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Cost: $149 |
Date: Thu. 2/19/09 |
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Date: Thu. 5/14/09 |
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Feedback That Works!
Too often our work productivity suffers because we cannot communicate effectively. However, there are methods for giving feedback to your colleagues that allow you to be authentic without damaging the relationship.
You will learn to:
- Use your emotions effectively
- Consider the essential factors before responding
- Structure your feedback for best results
- Express your opinion while acknowledging others’ opinions
- Disagree with others without destroying the relationship
- Provide feedback based on a real understanding of the other person’s ideas, views and needs
You will benefit by:
- Preserving your integrity through honest feedback
- Using a process for giving effective feedback
- Becoming more authentic in your communication
- Developing comfort with giving feedback
- Improving your relationships
Audience:
Any staff member seeking tools and greater comfort in providing feedback to their colleagues
Recommendations for course preparation:
Participation in Improving Your Listening Skills and/or Assertiveness Skills is strongly encouraged prior to enrollment in this course.
Schedule Selection(s) |
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Cost: $139 |
Dates: Tue. 9/23/08 |
| Dates: Tue. 3/3/09 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 pm. Code: CLC904 |
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Enneagram: 9 Ways of Working Smarter
While every individual is unique, we have patterns in the way we think, feel, and behave which form our identity and Enneagram personality type. The more we become aware of these gifts, the better we become at understanding others and how they see the world.
You will learn to:
- Assess your natural working style
- Recognize the eight other work styles
- Identify your work style under calm, stressful and high performance conditions
- Describe your preferred work environment
You will benefit by:
- Gaining a clearer sense of how you work and what you need from your environment
- Understanding the many ways others work
- Becoming more flexible and effective when working with others
Course Preparation
An assessment tool will be sent to you ahead of time to be completed and returned before the session.
Program Note:
Participants will receive a copy of the book The Essential Enneagram by David Daniels, M.D. and Virginia Price, Ph.D.
Schedule Selection(s) - 2 Day Course |
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Cost: $179 |
Dates: Thu. 5/7 & 5/14/09 (2-day course) |
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