Effective Communication Styles

4 hour course

Being assertive is not being pushy—but it’s also not being a pushover. As author William Glasser once said, "Too many of us fail to fulfill our needs because we say no rather than yes, and yes when we should say no." Learning to communicate more assertively can help you speak up for your reasonable rights in a respectful manner.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand characteristics and behaviors of passive, aggressive, and assertive communication styles
• Recognize barriers to assertive communication
• Identify and apply strategies for improving assertive communication techniques

4 hour course

Author Earl Wilson is quoted as saying, “Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.” Can communication within an organization be learned or improved? Most definitely! This course examines ways to communicate more effectively, both verbally and in writing, with coworkers and clients.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand core communication concepts
• Communicate effectively with coworkers, customers, teams, and managers
• Establish guidelines for face-to-face and electronic communication within an organization

4 hour course

According to many experts, anywhere from 75-95% of our total communication is nonverbal. While those figures may appear staggering at first, a thorough examination of “nonverbal” communication proves to be enlightening. In this course, you will learn skills that will help you communicate more effectively not only on the job, but also in day to day interactions.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the complexity of verbal and nonverbal communication
• Apply how to become a better interpreter of messages
• Recognize how to apply techniques in order to enhance both workplace and personal communication

4 hour course

Interpersonal communication, the face-to-face interaction between two or more persons, is becoming more and more of a necessity in today’s workplace. Businesses with poor communication suffer increases in turnover and absenteeism and decreases in morale and sales. Being able to improve your interpersonal skills has never been more important. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Recognize the importance of nonverbal communication
• Identify how to become a better communicator as well as an interpreter of messages
• Understand how to enhance interpersonal skills on the job

4 hour course

Some statistics: Currently, the majority of the workforce is in their 20s and the proportion of working 65-69 year olds in the US has doubled since 1985. With such a wide range in ages throughout the workplace, it is more important than ever that you know how to communicate, not only with your own generation but with others as well. In this course, you will explore why generations communicate the way they do and how to best get your message across to different age groups. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify potential challenges when interacting with the different generations
• Demonstrate techniques that foster respectful communication with diverse generations
• Develop an action plan to connect to all generations in your workplace

4 hour course

Do women really talk more than men? Have males mastered the art of “selective hearing”? Are men really from Mars and women from Venus? Explore these concepts and much more as you delve into the complexities of gender and its impact on the communication process.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore the reasons behind gender differences in communication
• Recognize how men and women communicate in different ways
• Practice ways to become more effective as communicators and interpreters of messages

4 hour course

“People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion.” —2004 National Commission on Writing report. Whether it’s an informal email or a formal report, writing skills are a critical component in the workplace. This course can help you tune up your skills to ensure your written communication is effective. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the mechanics of punctuation, capitalization and spelling as they apply to workplace writing
• Recognize the elements of effective writing
• Identify steps to better proofreading

4 hour course

You’ve probably seen the popular t-shirt that reads: “Let’s eat, Grandma!  Let’s eat Grandma!  Punctuation Saves Lives. “

While humorous, the example above does emphasize the importance of using Standard English. Good grammar is essential on the job as careless mistakes can cause bad first impressions, stalled career advancement, and embarrassing, even costly, errors. This refresher course covers the basics to keep you on the right language track. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the mechanics of writing effective sentences and paragraphs
• Understand making subjects, pronouns and verbs agree
• Improve ability to communicate using proper Standard English

4 hour course

We were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason—we should all be listening more than we are speaking. But, true listening is not as easy as it seems. Through innovative course exercises and activities, you will discover the intricacies of the listening process and explore techniques that will help you improve your listening skills.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Recognize the essential differences between “hearing” and “listening”
• Understand and practice the fundamental elements of effective listening
• Develop special active listening skills to improve both team and interpersonal communication

4 hour course

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” –Jerry Seinfeld 

You can master the art of public speaking. In this course, you will learn how to dramatically improve your presentation skills as well as other tricks of the trade. Eliminate public speaking anxiety once and for all! 

*Also available as Advanced “No Fear” Public Speaking (8 hour course with videotaping)

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the basic steps in organizing and developing an effective message
• Identify how to manage stage fright
• Demonstrate effective delivery techniques

4 hour course

How strong are your negotiation skills? Being a solid negotiator can help you make successful deals, build healthy relationships, solve problems, and minimize stress. You owe it to yourself to build your negotiation skills, not only in the workplace, but in everyday situations as well. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Better understand the negotiation process
• Develop an effective plan and strategy for any negotiation
• Implement techniques that help persuade while minimizing conflicts and deadlocks

4 hour course

Technical writing can be difficult to master—you want to get your message across effectively but you also want it to be readable for your audience. Learn how to accomplish both and achieve balance in this essential course that’s packed with ideas and information.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the writing process as it applies to technical writing
• Analyze particular problems of conveying technical material
• Implement the design of technical documents that communicate effectively with a variety of audiences

4 hour course

Author C.J. Cherryh once said, “It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly,” emphasizing the permanence and importance of words on the printed page. Nearly everyone in business must write informal reports at some time or another. These reports may be related to accidents, progress, feasibility, trips, departmental procedures—just to name a few. While informal, these reports are not unimportant, and appropriate guidelines need to be followed to maintain professional standards.

Learning Outcomes:

• Review elements of informal reports (purpose, audience, format, organization)
• Understand the 5 Cs of effective writing
• Apply writing principles to specific work situations