COMMUNICATION SKILLS

One day

Key course objectives

• To  find the best way to prepare yourself for successful communication
• To determine how to tailor your communication style when dealing with different types of people  and between different cultures
• To be able to communicate more persuasively using a range of techniques
• How to communicate effectively and appropriately in a negotiation/ or conflict situation
• To diagnose current deficiencies in your own/your team’s communication skills
• To understand what can be done to improve your communication – and in different situations (eg cross-culturally)
• To apply this to some real issues which you are facing
• To action plan how you are going to make a lasting improvement in the quality of your communication/processes around you generally.

PROGRAMME

Introduction and Objectives

The Communication Process: How to create and maintain effective communication in R & D

• What distinguishes ‘effective’ versus ‘ineffective’ communication?
• Understanding how communication works – the communication model
• Identifying your style of communication
• Diagnosis of past communication problems
• The Communication Process (working on your own issues)

Communicating effectively: Essential communication tools

• Stakeholder analysis
• Stakeholder agendas – having the ‘out-of-body’ experience
• Communication plans
• How a PID (project initiation definition) can facilitate excellent communication in R & D projects
• Using a responsibility matrix to ensure clarity of roles in R & D
• The importance of asking questions and being proactive (testing understanding and attitude shift) and active listening
• E-mails – communication and how to manage it more effectively
• The benefits of networking in the communication mix

How to maximise the value of R & D meetings

• Best practice for effective R & D meetings
• Getting the meeting to start and end on time
• How to half the time it takes to have a meeting
• Etiquette for video and teleconferencing
• How to give effective presentations at R & D meetings – the communication grid

Communicating using the most appropriate negotiation style

• Styles of negotiation and how to develop the win-win communication negotiation style
• Handling conflict and difficult situations successfully

Effective Cross-cultural communication

• Learn how to communicate even more effectively with international colleagues and avoid misunderstanding and conflict
• How to apply the Hofstede Cultural layer theory into practice

Action Planning

• Identification of your personal areas of strength and areas for improvement