Workshops

There have been a number of studies that identify the key skills that workers need to be successful. Various studies call them different things – critical employability skills, soft skills, or transferrable skills. Regardless of the name these skills are critical for workplace success Eight of the most commonly identified skills are: Being a Productive Team Member, Flexibility, Problem Solving, Resourcefulness, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Self-Confidence, Creative Thinking, and Emotional Intelligence. Many of us possess one or more of these attributes already and perhaps all of them. Luckily these skills can be improved upon through training.

This one-day course looks to take you from where you are now to a new level of understanding for the key skills that will help to make you successful at work.

What Will Students Learn?

• Know your own team member roles and responsibilities.
• Understand ways to be an effective team member.
• Know how it feels to experience change and know your level of change tolerance.
• Understand ways to be flexible in times of change.
• Know what a problem is and ways to approach problem solving.
• Recognize the self-fulfilling prophecy and its relevance to their work.
• Appreciate the variety of behaviors that characterize resourcefulness in the workplace.
• Identify tips to giving and receiving feedback.
• Realize the uses of feedback to increase their strengths as leaders in the workplace.

What Topics are Covered?

• Being a Team Player
• Flexibility
• Problem Solving
• Resourcefulness
• Feedback
• Self-Confidence
• Creative Thinking
• Emotional Intelligence

Today’s workforce is experiencing job burnout and stress in epidemic proportions. Workers at all levels feel stressed out, insecure, and misunderstood. Many people feel the demands of the workplace, combined with the demands of home, have become too much to handle. This one-day workshop explores the causes of such stress, and suggests general and specific stress management strategies that people can use every day.

What Will Students Learn?

• Understand that stress is an unavoidable part of everybody’s life
• Recognize the symptoms that tell you when you have chronic stress overload
• Change the situations and actions that can be changed
• Deal better with situations and actions that can’t be changed
• Create an action plan for work, home, and play to help reduce and manage stress

What Topics are Covered?

• Defining stress and how it affects us
• What is stress about?
• Building a solid foundation
• Mental strategies
• Stress at work
• Time management tips
• Stress at home
• Drainers and fillers

A great presenter has two notable qualities: appropriate skills and personal confidence. Confidence comes from knowing what you want to say and being comfortable with your communication skills. In this two-day workshop, you will master the skills that will make you a better speaker and presenter.

What Will Students Learn?

• Establish rapport with your audience
• Learn techniques to reduce nervousness and fear
• Understand your strengths as a presenter and how to appeal to different types of people
• Recognize how visual aids can create impact and attention
• Develop techniques to create a professional presence
• Learn some different ways to prepare and organize information
• Prepare, practice, and deliver a short presentation

What Topics are Covered?

• Communication skills
• Personality types
• Positive self-talk, rapport, and body language
• Maximizing meetings
• Managing sticky situations
• Overcoming nervousness
• The five S’s
• Writing and planning a presentation
• Audience profile 
• Your speaking voice
• Add punch to your presentation

We make decisions and solve problems continually. We start making decisions before we even get out of bed (shall I get up now or not?). Sometimes, we will have made as many as 50 decisions by the time we leave for work. Despite all the natural decision making that goes on and the problem solving we do, some people are very uncomfortable with having to make decisions. You may know someone who has a hard time making decisions about what to eat, never mind the internal wrestling they go through in order to take on major decisions at work. Likewise, we’ve probably all looked at a solution to something and said, “I could have thought of that.” The key to finding creative solutions is not just creativity, although that will certainly help. The answer rests in our ability to identify options, research them, and then put things together in a way that works. Having a process to work through can take the anxiety out of problem solving and make decisions easier. That’s what this two-day workshop is all about.

What Will Students Learn?

• How to apply problem solving steps and tools
• How to analyze information to clearly describe problems
• How to identify appropriate solutions
• Ways to think creatively and be a contributing member of a problem solving team
• How to select the best approach for making decisions
• How to create a plan for implementing, evaluating, and following up on decisions
• Ways to avoid common decision-making mistakes

What Topics are Covered?

• Problem-solving definitions
• Making decisions
• Problem solving model and toolkit
• Getting into It
• SWOT Analysis
• Making good group decisions
• Analyzing and selecting solutions
• Planning and organizing
• Many hands-on case studies and exercises

It’s no secret that employees who feel they are valued and recognized for the work they do are more motivated, responsible, and productive. This one-day workshop will help supervisors and managers create a more dynamic, loyal, and energized workplace. It is designed specifically to help busy managers and supervisors understand what employees want, and to give them a starting point for creating champions.

What Will Students Learn?

• Identify what motivation is
• Describe common motivational theories and how to apply them
• Learn when to use different kinds of motivators 
• Create a motivational climate
• Design a motivating job

What Topics are Covered?

• What is motivation?
• Supervising and motivation
• Motivational theories
• Setting goals
• The role of values
• Creating a motivational climate
• Applying your skills
• Designing motivating jobs

Organizations who promote accountability are more successful and more productive. In this one-day workshop, you will learn about what accountability is, how to promote it in your organization, and how to become more accountable to yourself and others.

What Will Students Learn?

• Understand what accountability is and what events in history have shaped our view of it
• Identify the requirements for personal and corporate accountability
• Apply the cycle of accountability and the fundamental elements required to build an accountable organization
• Describe what individuals must do to become accountable
• Build skills required for accountability, including goal setting, giving and receiving feedback, and delegation
• Pinpoint ways to build ownership in your organization
• Isolate areas for further self-improvement

What Topics are Covered?

• Defining accountability 
• Creating an accountable organization 
• Setting goals and expectations
• Doing delegation right 
• Offering feedback
• A toolbox for managers

In today’s society, many people experience information overload. We are bombarded with messages to believe various ideas, purchase things, support causes, and lead our lifestyle in a particular way. How do you know what to believe? How do you separate the truth from the myths?

The answer lies in critical thinking skills. The ability to clearly reason through problems and to present arguments in a logical, compelling way has become a key skill for survival in today’s world. This two-day workshop will give you some practical tools and hands-on experience with critical thinking and problem solving.

What Will Students Learn?

• Define critical and non-critical thinking
• Identify your critical thinking style(s), including areas of strength and improvement
• Describe other thinking styles, including left/right brain thinking and whole-brain thinking
• Work through the critical thinking process to build or analyze arguments
• Develop and evaluate explanations
• Improve key critical thinking skills
• Use analytical thought systems and creative thinking techniques
• Prepare and present powerful arguments

What Topics are Covered?

• Understanding critical thinking
• Where do other types of thinking fit in? (including whole-brain and left and right brain)
• Pitfalls to reasoned decision making
• The critical thinking process
• A critical thinker’s skill set
• Creating explanations
• Dealing with assumptions
• Common sense
• Critical and creative thought systems
• Plenty of hands-on case studies

Creative thinking and innovation are vital components in both our personal and professional lives. However, many people feel as though they are lacking in creativity. What most of us do not recognize is that we are creative on a daily basis, whether it’s picking out what clothes to wear in the morning or stretching a tight budget at work. While these tasks may not normally be associated with creativity, there is a great deal of creativity involved to get those jobs done. While some people seem to be simply bursting with creativity, others find it a struggle to think outside the square. If you fall into the latter category, it is important to understand that boosting your creative and innovative abilities takes practice. Recognizing and honing your own creative potential is a process. That’s what this two-day workshop is all about.

What Will Students Learn?

• How to identify the difference between creativity and innovation
• How to recognize their own creativity
• Ways to build their own creative environment
• The importance of creativity and innovation in business 
• Problem solving steps and tools
• Individual and group techniques to help generate creative ideas
• How to implement creative ideas

What Topics are Covered?

• What is creativity and innovation? 
• Individual creativity and how to get creative
• Developing the right environment for creativity
• Creativity and innovation in business
• Where does creativity fit into the problem-solving process?
• Defining the problem
• Creative techniques (RAP model, shoe swap, mind mapping, metaphors and analogies, situation/solution reversal)
• Encouraging creativity in a team (brainstorming, rolestorming, brainwriting, stepladder, and slip writing)
• Putting it all together 

Many people see conflict as a negative experience. In fact, conflict is a necessary part of our personal growth and development. Think of when you were trying to choose your major in college, for example, or trying to decide between two jobs. However, conflict becomes an issue when the people involved cannot work through it. They become engaged in a battle that does not result in growth. When this type of conflict arises, negative energy can result, causing hurt feelings and damaged relationships. This two-day course will give participants the tools that will help you resolve conflict successfully and produce a win-win outcome.

What Will Students Learn?

• What conflict is and how it can escalate.
• The types of conflict and the stages of conflict.
• The five most common conflict resolution styles and when to use them.
• How to increase positive information flow through non-verbal and verbal communication skills.
• Effective techniques for intervention strategies.
• Ways to manage conflicts to enhance productivity and performance.

What Topics are Covered?

• Defining conflict and types of conflict 
• Spontaneous and reflective action
• The Johari window
• Stages of conflict
• Conflict resolution style questionnaire
• The role of communication in conflict resolution (including information on active listening, paraphrasing, asking questions, and body language)
• The conflict/opportunity test
• Conflict and its resolution
• Helping others through conflict

Have you ever wondered why it seems so difficult to talk with some people and so easy to talk with others? Can you recall an occasion where you met someone for the first time and immediately liked that person? Something about the individual made you feel comfortable.

A major goal of this two-day workshop is to help you understand the impact your communication skills have on other people. You will also explore how improving these skills can make it easier for you to get along in the workplace, and in life.

What Will Students Learn?

• Identify common communication problems that may be holding you back
• Develop skills to ask questions that give you information you need
• Learn what your non-verbal messages are telling others
• Develop skills in listening actively and empathetically to others
• Enhance your ability to handle difficult situations
• Deal with situations assertively

What Topics are Covered?

• Creating positive relationships
• Growing our self-awareness
• Communication basics and barriers
• Asking questions and listening skills
• Body language
• Communication styles
• Creating a positive self-image
• Frame of reference
• Techniques for the workplace
• Assertiveness

We all know what good writing is. It’s the novel we can’t put down, the poem we never forgot, and the speech that changes the way we look at the world. Good writing is the memo that gets action and the letter that says what a phone call can’t.

In business writing, the language is concrete, the point of view is clear, and the points are well expressed. Good writing is hard work, and even the best writers get discouraged. However, with practice you can feel more confident about your own writing. This two-day workshop will give you the tools to become a better writer.

What Will Students Learn?

• The value of good written communication.
• How to write and proofread your work so it is clear, concise, complete, and correct.
• How to apply these skills in real world situations.
• The proper format for memos, letters, and e-mails.

What Topics are Covered?

• The four C’s: clear, concise, complete, and correct
• Word agreement
• Active and passive voice
• Sentences and sentence types
• Readability index
• Manners and courtesy
• Practical and inclusive language
• Sentence construction and punctuation
• Writing business letters, memos, and e-mails
• Spelling and proofreading
• Reviewing your writing

If you’ve ever had an awkward moment where:

• You aren’t sure which fork to use, 
• You don’t know which side plate is yours,
• You’ve ever had to make small talk with a Very Important Person and been lost for words… 

Then you know just how agonizing such moments can be. Even worse (and what can be even more damaging to your career) are the social gaffes you aren’t even aware you make. This one-day workshop will help you handle most of those socially difficult moments. 

What Will Students Learn?

• Effective networking, including making introductions, shaking hands, and using business cards appropriately
• How to dress appropriately for every business occasion
• How to feel comfortable when dining in business and formal situations
• How to feel more confident of your business communication in every situation
• That extra edge that establishes trust and credibility

What Topics are Covered?

• Business etiquette basics
• The handshake
• Business card etiquette
• The skill of making small talk
• Do you remember names?
• Making that great first impression
• Dress for success
• Business dining
• E-mail and telephone etiquette

Teams are an important building block of successful organizations. Whether the focus is on service, quality, cost, value, speed, efficiency, performance, or other similar goals, teams are the basic unit that supports most organizations.

With teams at the core of corporate strategy, your success as an organization can often depend on how well you and other team members operate together. How are your problem-solving skills? Is the team enthusiastic and motivated to do its best? Do you work well together? This one-day course can help you get there!

What Will Students Learn?

• The value of working as a team
• How to develop team norms, ground rules, and team contracts
• Their team player style and how it can be used effectively 
• Ways to build team trust
• The stages of team development and how to help a team move through them
• The critical role communication skills will play in building and maintaining a team atmosphere
• Ways that team members can be involved and grow in a team setting

What Topics are Covered?

• Defining teams
• Establishing team norms
• Working as a team
• Your team player type
• Building team trust
• The stages of team development
• Team building with TORI 
• Communication
• Becoming a good team player

What exactly makes a decision ethical? The problem with ethics is that what may seem morally right (or ethical) to one person may seem appalling to another. This workshop will not provide you with an easy way to solve every ethical decision you will ever have to make. It will, however, help you define your ethical framework to make solving those ethical dilemmas easier. We’ll also look at some tools that you can use when you’re faced with an ethical decision. And, we’ll look at some techniques you can use so you don’t get stuck in an ethical quandary. Best of all, we’ll look at a lot of case studies so that you can practice making decisions in a safe environment.

What Will Students Learn?

• Understand the difference between ethics and morals
• Understand the value of ethics
• Identify some of your values and moral principles
• Be familiar with some philosophical approaches to ethical decisions
• Identify some ways to improve ethics in your office
• Know what is required to start developing an office code of ethics
• Know some ways to avoid ethical dilemmas
• Have some tools to help you make better decisions
• Be familiar with some common ethical dilemmas

What Topics are Covered?

• What are ethics? Why bother with ethics?
• Taking your moral temperature
• Kohlberg’s six stages
• Philosophical approaches
• Avoiding ethical dilemmas
• Pitfalls and excuses
• Developing an office code of ethics
• 22 keys to an ethical office
• Decision making tools
• Handling dilemmas with company policy, co-workers, clients, and supervisors
• What to do when you make a mistake