Courageous Conversations: Communicating to Influence One Conversation at a Time

In today’s rapidly changing business climate, effective communication practices are at the heart of every successful team and organization. It is no longer considered a “soft” skill that was nice to have. Effective communication is a mandatory requirement. Yet lost in a sea of technology and 24/7 workplace connectivity, we often think we’re communicating by the sheer volume of our voice mails, e-mails and texting. What we sometimes ignore is the quality of our communication, especially critical when stakes are high and the maintenance of trust is critical. When we rely mostly on the use of technology to communicate, we often miss vital communication cues. Missing these cues leads to misunderstanding and conflict, which can be costly to individuals, teams and organizations.

The business impact of poor communication includes:

  • Failed project delivery
  • Increased employee turnover
  • Decreased employee morale and engagement
  • Increased absenteeism
  • Poor customer service
  • Ineffective change management
  • Greater incidence of injuries
  • Higher litigation costs
  • Lower shareholder return

In this 2-day workshop, participants learn how to have the courage and the skills to handle important conversations to influence the accomplishment of tasks as well as maintain working relationships.

They will learn how to:

  • Quickly build rapport to enable trust
  • Work with perceptions to improve understanding and critical meaning
  • Effectively plan and set the climate for dialogue
  • Open and facilitate the conversation
  • Build in accountability and follow-up for performance

In an additional day (3-day total), participants can add to their dialogue skills by learning how to:

  • Foster the three perceptions needed to tap into intrinsic motivation