Business Communication Skills

Introduction:

Apply well-honed communication techniques to navigate common work challenges. This program incorporates skill practice, role-play activities and real-time feedback to help you take your communication skills to the next level. Using real-life scenarios in a supportive environment, you’ll practice communicating with authenticity and clarity as you choose the best way to communicate the message you want to convey. You’ll be challenged to step up and be seen—and analyze how you view and respond to people.

Targeted Groups:

Professionals at all levels who need to be strong and effective communicators.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Learn how to build connections that foster trust and rapport.
• Build commitment, consensus, and collaboration throughout their organization.
• Tailor the communications to their target audience.
• Tap into the power of their communication style to get the results they want.
• Apply skills to connect and engage with audiences, whether in person or across a digital divide.

Targeted Competencies:

• Communication skills
• Writing skills
• Self-confidence
• Presentation skills
• Interpersonal skill

Course Content:

Unit 1: The Power of Self-Awareness and the Importance of Perception:

• Understanding yourself, your audiences, and the power of perception.
• Identify Your Personality Type and How It Impacts Your Use of the Five Keys of Effective Communication.
• Identifying your communication style and its impact.
• Identify others’ types and how style differences impact communication.
• Using style knowledge to identify flexing strategies.
• Describe How Our Perceptions of Others Can Impact Communications

Unit 2: The Three Vs of Communication – Vocal, Verbal, Visual:

• Describe the Impact of Three Vs on Communication Perceptions.
• Understanding how each of the 3 Vs affects perception.
• Demonstrating how non-verbal behavior affects perception.
• Apply Three Vs to Your Own Communication Planning.

Unit 3: Effective Listening and Building Rapport:

• Demonstrate Effective Questioning and Listening Skills to Build Rapport.

Unit 4: Authentic Communication and Influence:

• Linking authentic communication with style awareness and effective influencing skills.
• Flexing your style to influence others.
• Demonstrating authentic communication to influence another by incorporating style flexing and the 3Vs.
• Explain How Storytelling Can Improve Rapport and Influence.
• Identify When Storytelling Can Improve Your Ability to Connect with and Influence Others.
• Develop and Tell a Credibility-Building Story.

Unit 5: Creating Impactful Messages for All Communication Methods:

• Explain the Importance of Adjusting Messages Based on Style, Modality, Organizational Level, and Knowledge.
• Prepare for a Conversation Using the Five Key Skills Worksheet.
• Customizing messages to your audiences and communication modality.

Unit 6: Storytelling: A Powerful Influencing Tool:

• Using storytelling to improve rapport and influence.
• Identifying stories and utilizing the principles of effective storytelling.
• Developing and telling an “I Know What You’re Thinking” story.
• Improving your ability to connect with and influence others through storytelling.

Unit 7: Business Writing:

• Writing to influence others.
• Organizing your writing to accomplish your purpose.
• Prepare for a Conversation Using the Five Key Skills Worksheet.
• Using visuals to enhance reader understanding.
• Prepare a Plan to Write Your Document, Considering Your Audience, Purpose, and Content
• Practicing effective writing.
• Applying an editing process to improve your final product.
• Describe a Two-Step Editing Process That Will Improve Your End Product.

Unit 8: Presentation Skills:

• Identifying critical elements of exceptional presentations.
• Describing the types of presentations and different modalities.
• Fostering audience engagement during different types of presentations.
• Applying best-in-class techniques for managing presentation anxiety.

Unit 9: Communication Behaviors – Capstone:

• Exhibiting confidence and competence in applying skills and techniques of effective business communication.
• Create a Plan for Integrating Skills Learned into Business Communications.