Seminars on Communication Skills

Once you learn how your communication style affects your interactions with others, our communication skills seminars will help you communicate more effectively in any scenario.

The Power of Words—Communicating without Judgment

The impact of the words we use are powerful, so whether you're working to improve your personal or your professional relationships, you have to be careful and responsible, to think not only about what you want to say, but also how you say it. Words can uplift and build up.... or they can tear down and destroy.

The primary objective of this seminar is for participants to discover how they see and hear others and how others see and hear them.

  • In advance of this workshop, participants will complete a behavior self-assessment, a learning tool that provides information about his or her personal listening skills, his or her information processing methods, and his or her communication style.

“Michelle has the rare ability to distinguish and account for a person’s communication style and specific needs-- effectively engaging any participant in her seminars.  I felt motivated to learn, and even 2 years after the seminar, still utilize and incorporate the tools in my everyday interpersonal relationships, garnering much commendation from my coworkers and supervisor.”

R.T.
Payroll Administrator

“Your courses not only helped me professionally but personally. I have applied the tools and techniques you've demonstrated to being a father as well as a husband. A small shift in approach can move mountains and open minds that would otherwise seem closed or unapproachable.”

M.M.
Director, Desktop Post

Respectful Feedback: Giving and Receiving for Mutual Benefit

Most people do not know how to give or receive feedback; however, a variety of ways can be utilized to successfully provide and graciously accept feedback in personal and professional settings. Feedback is neither negative nor positive; it is simply information that can be beneficial and useful in personal and professional growth.

Participants will receive specific techniques on how to give and receive feedback while learning how feedback helps lessen and even eliminate potential conflict and ease the tension in awkward situations.  Feedback can be a key to success. Participants will learn to see feedback as a roadmap that helps them offer and receive direction, understand expectations, and discover areas that need improvement.

Safe Conflict Management—Moving Towards Resolution

Conflict is natural, whether people are working or playing. It can be created by people who harbor strong opinions and different perspectives; by people who are wound a little tightly or have naturally intense, high-pressure personalities; by people who are inflexible to change. Some conflict is productive because it opens the door for people to have discussions and share opinions, evaluations, and perspectives. But, unresolved conflict can hurt or even destroy relationships; this type of conflict needs to be managed effectively and constructively so that involved persons can move towards a productive resolution.  

Participants in this seminar will become familiar with some of conflict’s various causes and the top five issues that lead to conflict. Additionally, participants will

  • Identify their own approaches to conflict
  • Learn skills for turning conflicts into opportunities that achieve expected results
  • Explore how to turn emotional situations into positive interchanges
  • Focus on ways to prevent or defuse conflict
  • Investigate how to prevent or handle emotional eruptions

“Michelle is an extraordinary speaker.  Her soft-spoken, powerful way of presenting is highly engaging.  I learned a great deal from both her effective communications and conflict resolution programs.  So much so, that it was a life-changing experience.  Her concepts and style inspired me to change my behavior both at work and at home, and I keep a reminder of her core principles on my desk.  Her sense of humor and real approach makes learning fun.  I highly recommend her both as a speaker and coach.”

D.R.
 IT Client Liaison

Unexpected Solutions to Business Diplomacy

This seminar is designed specifically for managers but the information can prove valuable for others. In the seminar, participants come to understand the importance of corporate politics and realize the impact political decisions—or political indecision—can have on career success. Much of the discussion focuses on gathering context, or “the big picture” from the entire organization; understanding how contributions to an organization’s life can have an impact; and honing related leadership and management skills.

The following topics are discussed as being integral to an organization’s politics, though they are seldom regarded in such a way: 

  • the importance of communicating within the organization
  • the importance of building relationships
  • the importance of managers sharing their perspectives and insights

Michelle's professional and open interpersonal style, coupled with her extensive training development experience, fosters a trusting, energizing training environment.  She has provided me with life-altering knowledge that I will treasure for a lifetime!

L.L.
Lead Business Analyst