Stop managers talking – get them communicating! With Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers you’ll be able to help them become great communicators. Your managers will be able to develop insight into how other people feel, think and act. They’ll understand the importance of tone of voice, body language, listening skills.
Think how improvements in these areas will have big pay-back from your managers in terms of listening, coaching and counselling skills, participative problem solving and influencing skills.
Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers gives you all you need to run an outstanding course: each activity gives you the overview, how long it takes, what materials and resources you need – this pack gives you enough material for over 51 hours of training.
List of Activities:
1. Let’s start at the very beginning
This opening activity looks at how to establish an effective, safe learning climate within which participants feel confident to experiment with new behaviour.
2. Interpersonal skills audit
Participants discover how interpersonal skills are central to achieving success at work. This activity gives them an opportunity to look at the relevance and importance of the interpersonal skills they currently employ and then produce an action plan to develop key skills.
3. So, what is my personality?
In this activity, participants consider some of the basic principles of personality theory that underpin interpersonal skills. They explore the ways in which they interact with other people, based on their personality types, and examine methods of flexing their approach to understand and accommodate other people.
4. Ask a silly question
The participants have an opportunity in this activity to experience the benefits of two-way over one-way communication. They also consider and practise the techniques required to ask effective questions.
5. It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it!
Participants investigate the role that tone of voice plays in communicating effectively with other people. The activity provides them with an opportunity to develop their own skills and enhance their competence as effective communicators.
6. Ma – he’s making eyes at me!
In this activity participants explore the various components of body language and their own skills in being able to recognise and use body language effectively as an aid to improving their interpersonal communication.
7. Listen. Do you want to know a secret?
Participants become aware of the traps that unwary communicators can fall into when involved in face-to-face discussion. The activity enables them to identify and develop the skills that will help them to listen actively in any interpersonal communication.
8. Hello. How are you?
The participants define and examine the skills and attitudes necessary for building and maintaining effective relationships at work and in a variety of social settings.
9. Take your pick
In this activity, participants study a continuum of five influencing strategies and the factors involved in making a choice of style. They then make plans for using influencing strategies at work.
10. Gunfight at the OK Corral?
Participants explore different styles of interpersonal behaviour and their underlying psychological conditions in order to identify and practise the skills required to be assertive in interpersonal communication.
11. Why did I respond like that?
By examining the basic concepts that underpin their communications with other people, participants look at their own current level of knowledge and practise handling awkward encounters for maximum effect.
12. Different strokes for different folks
The participants examine the concept of ‘stroking’ during interpersonal communication, consider how the theory applies to themselves, and then review and practise their skills in giving and receiving strokes.
13. Oi! I want a word with you
In this activity participants recognise that it is their responsibility to take the initiative when confronting poor or difficult behaviour in the workplace. It introduces participants to the essential elements of giving and receiving constructive criticism and feedback. They plan, prepare and engage in a practice scenario designed to help them expand their current level of skills.
14. Never mind the quality, feel the width
Participants study the various sources and styles of influencing and exercising power over other people. The activity introduces them to assertive persuasion and provides them with the opportunity to practise and plan how to develop the necessary skills.
15. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours
Participants investigate the techniques required to negotiate successfully, review and extend their own skills in this area, and plan how they can use these skills on their return to work.
16. Let’s solve that problem together now
In this activity, participants consider the joint problem-solving approach to interpersonal communication. They look at the skills needed to use this approach when resolving work-based problems.
17. Please, please help me!
The participants define counselling and distinguish it from other helpful activities. They examine the difficulties they may face when counselling in a workplace setting and practise using their counselling skills.
18. I think I’m going out of my mind over you
In this activity, participants consider the links between stress and personal perceptions and become aware of the debilitating effect of too much stress. They look at strategies for thinking positively and techniques that challenge cloudy thinking in order to adopt a constructive approach to problem solving.
19. Many hands make light work
Participants look into the key interpersonal skills needed to help teams function effectively. They review their current level of these skills and construct an action plan for improving them in their work setting.
20. Let’s put it all together
In this activity the participants examine how to manage their own difficult interpersonal encounters. They produce action plans that are based on a realistic assessment of their current knowledge and situation, what they are aiming for and a considered analysis of how they will get there.
