Communication & Listening

Improving Your Listening Skills

Good listening is an active process and a skill that must be learned. Come and receive valuable 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
  • 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
  • Recognizing the value of listening as an effective communication tool

Audience:

All staff interested in gaining or improving fundamental listening skills

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $149
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Deborah Orlowski
Competencies: BI CO DO QS

Dates & Times: Tue. 9/20/11, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1209
 
Dates & Times: Thu. 1/12/12, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1210
 
Dates & Times: Wed. 5/2/12, 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Code: CLC1211

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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 personal work experiences, you will have the opportunity to further practice and refine your 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)

Cost: $149
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Deborah Orlowski
Competencies: BI CO DO QS

Dates & Times: Thu. 3/15/12, 8:30 a.m . - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1201

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New!Walking the Dotted Line: Working for Multiple Managers

If you report to one person but have a dotted line relationship with another manager, then you know the challenges involved with keeping both happy while still juggling your duties. In this session, you will gain the necessary skills to leverage your relationships and successfully walk the dotted line.

You will learn to:

  • Manage the concurrent demands of multiple managers to make the best use of your time
  • Identify the points of influence with each of your managers to assure success in your work
  • Find helpful ways to facilitate conversation between your managers to enable them to help you prioritize your various duties

You will benefit by:

  • Knowing how to prevent potential issues before they happen
  • Gaining better control of how you spend your time
  • Decreasing the stress that can come with reporting to multiple managers

Audience:

Anyone reporting to more than one manager who would like to better manage their performance

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $159
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Christine Day
Competencies: BI CO AC

Dates & Times: Wed. 10/19/11, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1213

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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 better interpret the other person’s position
  • Examine your assumptions about the situation
  • Recognize the part we each play in difficult conversations
  • Use the best ways to analyze and address the issue(s) successfully

You will benefit by:

  • Lowering your anxiety while holding a “difficult conversation”
  • Learning innovative techniques for better communication
  • Expressing yourself clearly and powerfully

Audience:

All staff members who would like to improve their ability to manage challenging communication issues

Course Preparation:

The book Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen is included in the cost of this class and will be dispersed in the classroom.

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $159
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Deborah Orlowski
Competencies: BI CO DO QS

Dates & Times: Thu. 10/27/11, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Code: CLC1203
 
Dates & Times: Thu. 1/26/12, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1204
 
Dates & Times: Wed. 5/9/12, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Code: CLC1205

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New!Don’t Make a Fly Into an Elephant: Improving Your Effectiveness Through Better Intercultural Communication

No matter what a person’s background, understanding what culture is and how it impacts the way people communicate increases your effectiveness and likelihood of being understood by others.

You will learn to:

  • Distinguish which communication patterns may be due to native culture, race, or gender and which are due to individual personalities
  • Define what a communication style is and why it is important for effective communication
  • Recognize when communication styles and patterns are negatively impacting an interaction
  • Identify the 7 crucial components that impact communications
  • Analyze and compare your own communication with that of others who come from differing backgrounds
  • Use the “Communication Style Descriptor Checklist” to analyze a miscommunication

You will benefit by:

  • Interpreting others’ communication more accurately
  • Recognizing when your own style gets in the way of good communication, especially those that cross cultures
  • Leveraging style differences to dramatically improve communication
  • Increasing your effectiveness as a communicator in any kind of interaction

Audience:

Anyone who would like to increase his or her communication effectiveness; who regularly communicates with people of different cultures (ethnic, racial, or gender) including non-native English speakers or those who speak English as a second language

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $149
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Deborah Orlowski
Competencies: BI CO LA AC

Dates & Times: Wed. 10/5/11, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1206

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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:

  • Determine how to use your emotions effectively
  • Use a process for giving effective feedback
  • Consider the essential factors before responding
  • Structure your feedback for best results
  • Express your opinion while acknowledging others’ opinions
  • Find ways to 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
  • Becoming more authentic in your communication
  • Developing comfort with giving feedback
  • Improving your relationships at home and work

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)

Cost: $149
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Deborah Orlowski
Competencies: BI CO DO QS

Dates & Times: Thu. 2/16/12, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1208

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No-Fail E-Mail

E-Mail has become the most commonly used form of communication in the workplace; it is also the most frequently misunderstood. Learn how to use e-mail 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” in your daily communication
  • Determine when to use and NOT to use email to communicate

You will benefit by:

  • Improving your overall productivity
  • Gaining control over your email inbox and limiting interruptions
  • Upgrading your communication and professional image

Audience:

Anyone interested in using e-mail to communicate more effectively

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $159
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): April Callis
Competencies: DO LA

Dates & Times: Thu. 2/9/12, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1212

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Say What You Write: Verbal Communication for Professionals

Skillful verbal communication is an important aspect of being successful in any business environment. See how basic skills can help you become more confident in your ability to communicate with others.

You will learn to:

  • Identify the key principles of effective verbal communication
  • Recognize and eliminate using slang terms that negatively affect your ability to communicate with others
  • Use appropriate grammar in your verbal communication
  • Demonstrate how to enunciate words clearly and effectively to others

You will benefit by:

  • Gaining confidence in your ability to communicate with others successfully and with impact
  • Knowing when to speak and when to listen
  • Becoming clear and concise when speaking with others

Audience:

Anyone who feels that they could enhance their professional image by being a better verbal communicator

Schedule Selection(s)

Cost: $159
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Jacqueline Doneghy
Competencies: CO DO

Dates & Times:Wed. 9/28 & 10/5/11, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Code: PSC1203

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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 Enneagram working style
  • Describe the eight other Enneagram work styles
  • Identify your work style under calm, stressful and high performance conditions
  • Recognize your preferred work environment where your style can be more successful

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

Audience:

Anyone interested in learning how their personality type influences their interactions 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)

Cost: $189
Location: HRD
Presenter(s): Jane Pettit
Competencies: BI CO DO QS

Dates & Times: Wed. 5/16 & 5/23/12, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Code: CLC1207

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