Advanced Communications Skills for High Performing Teams

Overview:

In today’s workplace, it seems that there is never enough time to communicate and collaborate - the very essence of a highly effective team. Our messages are often rushed and incomplete, leaving people without a clear understanding of what is expected of them or how they are performing. When we do communicate it is often from a negative orientation: what I don’t want; what I won’t do; what I don’t like. This leaves the other person trying to interpret our message, which can lead to misunderstanding and assumptions, including assumptions regarding our motives.

This course is about exploring skills for more effective communication, to eliminate assumptions and to turn a conversation from a negative focus to a positive focus.  When a conversation is positive in its orientation it is more likely to lead to collaboration and mutually agreeable solutions.

In this course, we will look at the two sides of communicating – how to be a better listener, to understand what others are trying to communicate, and when we speak, how to do it in a constructive, clear way so our message is clearly understood. 

The goal of this course is to improve communication and understanding both as a listener and as a speaker. The structure of this course is both lecture and practical application of the skills and learning by analyzing a personal case study and one-on-one practice.

Course Content:

In this course, you will gain knowledge about the following topics:

• How to be a more effective listener and speaker
• The art of asking better questions
• How to use descriptive language to make a message clear and easy to understand
• How to clarify one’s intentions to minimize assumptions
• The skill of acknowledging what we have heard – not just the words, but also the meaning as we understand it
• The skill of reframing. Reframing is an advanced communication skill used to reword a negative expression of a problem into either a neutrally framed topic for discussion or a positive expression of the person’s underlying needs. Reframing a blaming or harsh statement redirects the party toward a desired positive outcome

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, you should be able to: 

• Explore skills for more effective communication
• Eliminate assumptions and turn a conversation from a negative focus to a positive focus  
• Understand how to be a better listener
• Understand what others are trying to communicate
• Learn when we speak, how to do it in a constructive, clear way so our message is clearly understood

Who Will Benefit:

This course is designed for individuals seeking to improve communication and understanding both as a listener and as a speaker.