Communication and Presentation Skills for Female Professionals

In this course, participants will understand the differences between communication styles and develop a Win-Win mind-set to make them effective in any circumstance. Using the four pillars of communication, participants will learn to determine what outcome they would like from any situation by influencing and persuading; they will build rapport with others, monitor their success, and be flexible to change. They will also understand common reasons for failures in communication and know what to do to resolve them.

As part of being an effective communicator and influencer, it is essential to be able to present with confidence and professionalism. Through this course, participants will be given live coaching around their presentation style. They will be shown best practice on how to use their voice, body movements, and choice of wording. Through repetition, they will grow in confidence as one by one, the skills are layered. They will also be shown how to create a well-structured presentation and how to interact professionally with their visual aids, including PowerPoint.

Course Methodology

Various training methods will be used throughout the course: trainer input, group discussion, small group exercises, experiential learning, individual presentations, and self-reflection. A highly interactive approach is used to encourage engagement.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Utilize the four pillars of effective communication
• Control difficult conversations without feeling guilty
• Apply the win-win mind-set and become assertive
• Design and deliver an impactful, professional presentation
• Overcome anxiety when presenting
• Become a confident, professional communicator

Target Audience

This course will benefit women who are in supervisory, managerial or leadership positions, or who work in teams, and would like to become more influential in the workplace through improving their communication skills. This course is a necessity for women who make presentations to colleagues and/ or clients as part of their professional role.

Target Competencies

• Oral Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Controlling conversations
• Creating Presentations
• Presenting Skills

Course Outline

• The four pillars of effective communication
• Knowing your outcome
• Building rapport quickly and easily
• Sensory acuity and what it means
• Flexibility being able to change if the communication is not going to plan
• The 3 channels of communication
• Identifying preferred communication styles
• Identifying your own habits and preferred way of communicating
• Identifying the preferred style of others
• Understanding tension between the varying styles
• Knowing how to limit tension by flexing your style
• Handling difficult conversations
• Using the ACHE model to diffuse tension
• Giving honest feedback
• Being prepared for typical responses to feedback
• Identifying the win-win mind-set and understanding its importance for assertiveness
• Passive, assertive and aggressive behaviours
• Being assertive
• Exploring the Life Positions model
• Designing a professional presentation
• The 5 key elements
• Problem: what problem?
• PowerPoint Its uses and flaws
• Other methods of presenting
• Delivering a presentation that has impact
• The 3 channels of communication and presenting
• Posture
• Legs and feet
• Arms and hands
• Gestures
• Delivering without notes or props
• Use of the voice
• Facial expressions
• The words used
• Overcoming anxiety when presenting
• Planning and preparation
• Rehearsal
• Top tips for calming nerves
• Visualizing success
• Powerful communication skills
• Understanding perceptions and how we create them
• Knowing how to make small adjustments for big changes
• Realizing the power of confident communication
• Staying calm in a crisis