Course Overview

Have you ever noticed how some people are really easy to get along with? Communication with these people is easy – when you talk, or send email, they just “get it.”  Conversely, do you know anyone who just doesn’t understand?  They want huge amounts of detail that you don’t have, or they can be so vague you have no idea what they want, or they need to know the end result before you start, or they constantly seem to be telling everyone else what to do? 

Wherever we are – at work, home, or play – we’re always demonstrating our own Communication Style – observable behaviors that are our preferred methods of communication when we’re trying to influence others.

Communication Styles Module Objectives

• Learn to identify and understand your own, as well as other people’s Communication Styles
• Discover how to best communicate and influence others, based on their Communication Style
• Use Communication Styles to stimulate meaningful dialogue that has influence (that lead to results)
• Hone your new skills when you practice using new communication techniques

Want to learn more about Communication Essentials? Contact us. 

Course Overview

Customer Service Essentials by Julia Mallory is a workshop designed specifically to fine-tune the customer services skills and behaviors to enable participants to deliver a superior customer experience.

What differentiates one company from another when they offer the similar products and services?  The customer’s perception of the service they receive tops the list.  How do you shift the client’s experience?  This session will focus on how you do just that.  So don’t compete when you can change the game.  Learn how to recognize “moments of truth” and differentiate your service to become the number one choice!

This hands-on, interactive workshop introduces participants to the principles of effective communication and how to successfully address their customer’s issues.  Participants leave with the tools to provide world-class customer service.

Workshop Objectives

At the end of the session, participants will:

• Discuss obstacles to superior service, and methods by which to overcome them.
• Acquire new skills to improve communication, clarity and generate mutual respect 
• Learn to recognize and manage “Moments of Truth” and other stress-driven customer requests.
• Practice techniques designed to improve interaction with both internal and external customers.
• Achieve an understanding of what defines quality Customer Service.
• Have developed an action plan to implement ideas in the real world workplace. 
• Learn to identify and understand your own, as well as other people’s communication style.

Want to learn more about Customer Service Essentials? Contact us.

Course Overview
Behavioral Interviewing Essentials by Julia Mallory focuses on one of the most challenging aspects in the workplace – recruiting and enlisting the right person for your team.

This hands-on, interactive workshop introduces participants to behavioral interviewing concepts, strategies and tactics to provide practical tools for effective recruiting.

Course Modules
Behavioral Interviewing – Skills and knowledge are on the resume, how do I learn about someone’s behavior in the workplace? 

Most interviewers spend too much time talking about what’s on the resume, not about performance in the workplace.  Learn to move past the words on the page and ask questions that get a candidate to tell you how they conduct themselves on the job.

Understanding Yourself and Others – Temperament theory and practice.  Explore the 4 working styles / temperaments and determine your own personal “best-fit.”  Once you understand what makes you tick (and the unconscious prejudices we carry with us about other temperaments) you will learn to “de-code” other personality types and develop your own toolkit of understanding and communication techniques to effectively understand the candidates you are interviewing.

The Communication Process – It’s how we get people to do something that we want them to do.  Once we understand our personality type, we move on to understand how we send and receive communication.  Practice “flexing” your preferred communication style to minimize misunderstandings in the interview process.

Creating a Personal Interview Plan – Thanks for the great workshop, but now what?  The capstone of this seminar is the development of a personal plan for you to use as you participate in the recruiting and selection process.

After completing the course, participants will:

• Identify their natural communication and behavioral style
• Understand the Communication Process and acquire flexible communication skills
• Understand and practice conducting effective and efficient interviews
• Practice questioning and listening skills
• Develop techniques to encourage and open and candid exchange of information.
• Have a personalized Interview Plan

Course Overview

Leadership Essentials by Julia Mallory is an advanced workshop building on the managerial competencies developed in Management Essentials.  This hands-on, interactive workshop introduces participants to advanced leadership strategies and tactics and provides practical tools for effective leadership.

         In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Understand your preferred Temperament and working style
• Become aware of the strengths and challenges attendant to your style
• Recognize other temperaments and interact more effectively
• Develop the vision and skills that result in real team commitment
• Build and lead empowered and motivated teams
• Effectively delegate work and responsibility
• Communicate effectively at all levels

 Want to learn more about Leadership Essentials? Contact us.

Course Overview

Management Essentials by Julia Mallory is the introductory workshop to build managerial competencies for new and experienced leaders. Using real-world action learning, this hands-on, interactive workshop introduces participants to communication and interaction styles, performance management and coaching.  Exercises are customized using examples and case studies from interviews with participants prior to the session.

The best managers do much more than supervise and delegate – they take a genuine interest in their team and work to develop those individuals’ professional skills and knowledge.  “Professional development is consistently a top-three (along with quality of work and co-workers) retention factor for critical employees.”  Your regular, consistent coaching and feedback is an intrinsic component of a successful management process.

Module Objectives
In this module, you will:

• Understand why it’s important to provide both positive and constructive feedback on a consistent basis
• Use interaction styles to stimulate meaningful dialogue that has impact
• Learn to create an environment of mutual respect where regular performance feedback becomes part of your work style
• Develop your own coaching style using a proven 4-step plan to drive performance
• Hone your new skills when you practice giving and receiving feedback

 Want to learn more about Management Essentials? Contact us.

Course Overview

Truly powerful presenters are often credited with the ability to communicate and persuade in ways to which others can easily relate.

Yet for many, undiscovered distinctions in individual communication style can serve as obstacles to their ability to influence others.  This course will help us identify these habitual communication mis-steps, and develop strategies designed to help avoid getting stuck in a self-defeating communication style.

Class attendees will learn to overcome the Fear factor, to create an engaging dialog within the room, and motivate audiences to take action.

Whether sell to a new client, presenting technical research, or facilitating a staff meeting, an authentic connection with the audience can make the difference between being the “toast of the town” – or simply burnt toast.

To enhance the participant’s skill sets, this workshop will blend presentation tips and guidelines along with communication exercises and real presentation practice.  Within this segment, participants will present in front of small groups, receiving detailed feedback from the instructor, as well as from each other.  To ensure that feedback is constructive, participants will also receive instruction in how to provide feedback.

         Participants will:

• Define effective communication.

• Learn how to recognize and overcome anxiety.

• Become aware of distinctions that impact the communication process.

• Identify and practice adapting their natural presentation style.

• Structure messages to enhance audience understanding and retention.

• Develop persuasive messages to generate confidence in the recommendations being presented.

• Practice Question and Answer sessions.

  Want to learn more about Presentation Essentials? Contact us.

Course Overview

The gift of communicating effectively can be critical to an individual’s success in the workplace. Come learn the skills critical to building solid working relationships and become aware of your preferred communication style and those of your co-workers. 

Discover the differences in personal communication styles that can hinder your ability to influence and persuade. Develop ways to adapt your style according to circumstance and opportunity. Learn how to make “work relationships” function smoothly and avoid needless workplace conflict.

“Workplace Essentials”  is a 1-day workshop that focuses on increasing your ability to influence your colleagues and supervisors with the objective of improving work relationships. The result is a more productive and positive working environment.

         Participants will:

• Learn the “best / preferred” communication practices used by an effective workforce
• Understand how to influence and motivate your colleagues
• Examine how to preserve and enhance your professional relationships while successfully being able to influence in the face of competing priorities 
• Discover the difference between giving direction and providing information
• Determine how and when to give various forms of Feedback as an Individual Contributor
• Identify the “command” aspect and “content” aspect of your communication style
• Practice adapting your “style” to suit the needs of special situations and individuals with different needs
• Examine various power bases available, when you have accountability without having “position” power”

  Want to learn more about Workplace Essentials? Contact us.

Course Overview

Team Building by Julia Mallory is a custom designed program to meet the specific needs and desired outcomes for intact work teams.  Workshops are designed to focus on topics such as: team development, teams in crisis, enhanced communication, visioning and strategic direction. Scenario-driven exercises are developed after consultation with the team leader to reflect the team’s work environment and to provide practical, useful tools and techniques for effective teamwork.

         In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Understand your preferred temperament and working style
• Become aware of the strengths and challenges attendant to your style
• Recognize other temperaments and interact more effectively
• Develop the vision and skills that result in real team commitment
• Build and lead empowered and motivated teams
• Effectively delegate work and responsibility
• Communicate effectively at all levels

  Want to learn more about Team Building? Contact us.

Course Overview

Time management, in itself, is a contradiction in terms. 

We cannot manage time:  we cannot save it to use at a later stage.  Every person receives the same number of hours in the day and the same number of days in the week. 

Time management is about the process of using our time more effectively.  It is about choices and expanding our awareness of these choices.

          In this workshop, you will:

• Understand how to prioritize tasks and activities
• Establish Key Result Areas for your job
• Understand basic planning principles
• Identify “Time Thieves” and brainstorm ways of reducing them
• Learn how to save time in meetings

 Want to learn more about Time Management? Contact us.

Course Overview

Performance Management is a crucial skill for anyone supervising the work of others.  It can range from a casual conversation to an annual performance appraisal process that impacts raises and promotions.  As a manager, you can establish a communication system that drives superior performance and value from each employee.  Goals-focused performance planning sessions and performance appraisals can foster a true commitment to success within each employee.  Consistent, fair and useful performance management practices benefit the employee, the manager, and the entire organization.

Performance Management Objectives
In this module, you will:

• Understand why it’s important to provide both positive and constructive feedback on a consistent basis
• Practice setting SMART objectives that drive productivity
• Learn to create an environment of mutual respect where regular performance feedback becomes part of your work style
• Walk through the difficult conversation – telling someone the hard news
• Hone your new skills when you practice giving and receiving feedback

 Want to learn more about Performance Management? Contact us. 

Course Overview 

According to the American Management Association, managers spend on average 20-50% of their time dealing with conflict.  Conflict, or the critical polarities and tensions between individuals, is unavoidable in any group setting. In fact, the culture of many organizations is defined by how they deal with such issues, arising from a variety of situations when individuals disagree on strategies, values, performance standards and working style.

However, it’s how one manages conflict that determines if these differences can lead to growth and development within a team or an organization, allowing people to productively reach their goals, improving relationships and saving time, energy and effort. Drawing on the widely used Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) participants will be exposed to a valuable tool for understanding their preferred conflict-handling modes, in the context of trying to fulfill their own as well as others’ needs. We will explore not only the range of conflict-handling modes available, but also take the material one step further in discussing how to determine which mode to utilize in a particular situation or when interacting with a difficult individual.

         Participants will:

• Learn their preferred conflict-handling modes and become aware of the diversity of approaches at their disposal

• Understand how to interpret their TKI profile holistically, according to the various dimensions of the model

• Identify several key attributes of a situation to evaluate the most appropriate conflict mode to employ under a given set of conditions

• Develop an ability to use each mode intelligently and effectively, in order to foster personal growth and organizational development 

Want to learn more about Managing Difficult Conversations? Contact us. 

Course Overview

Myers Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI) – Understanding yourself and others.  Get past the “alphabet soup” of the MBTI results.  In this module you will begin to understand how your “hardwired” preferences for gathering data, making decisions and relating to the world around you impacts your motivations, amplifies your natural strengths and creates areas for development.

Temperament Theory and Practice – How can one letter in the MBTI make such a huge difference?  Explore the 4 working styles / temperaments based on the MBTI and determine your own personal “best-fit.”  Once you understand what makes you tick (and what ticks you off) learn to “de-code” other personality types and develop your own toolkit of understanding and techniques to work productively in the work environment.

The Communication Process – It’s how we get people to do something that we want them to do.  Understand how we send and receive communication, based on our MBTI and our personality type.  Practice “flexing” your preferred communication style to maximize impact and minimize misunderstandings.

Course Objectives

After completing the workshop, participants will:

• Discover their natural temperament and working style
• Practice adapting their personal style to suit the needs of special circumstances.
• Know how to work more effectively with individuals and teams, enhancing overall performance and promoting mutual success.
• Experience how an awareness of temperament and style can help resolve problems in advance.
• Achieve an awareness of predictable stress triggers, and learn ways to mitigate them.
• Team members will learn how to manage the various personalities on their teams i.e., motivate, listen, communicate for results, particularly when the team is not co-located.

 Want to learn more about Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Contact us.

Course Overview 

In a work world saturated with technology aimed at improving the speed and efficiency of communication, utilizing actual techniques and methods for improving one’s interactions and influencing others has become something of a lost art. “Influencing and Generating Buy-in” revives this frequently forgotten skill set, providing attendees with the tools vital to effectively and successfully influencing others.

This can’t-miss workshop employs the Influence Factor model in teaching participants the art of storytelling, using inquiry and advocacy, and addressing the unspoken political environment to shift their communication practices.

Influencing and Generating Buy-in aids one in influencing colleagues, bosses, prospects, and clients through genuinely understanding their needs, knowing the logic behind their thinking processes, and being able to alter one’s tactics to drive to the desired result.

During this interactive session, attendees will engage in activities that can be practically and easily applied to the workplace. Using relevant case studies, discussions and storytelling, we will solve “The case of the dysfunctional workgroup.” We will then analyze the events that might have led to their demise, as well as utilize film clips in demonstrating potential ways that our influence/communication practices can build alliances or elicit conflict.

Participants learn how to Develop influencing skills by:

• Building a clear understanding of social, individual, structural and emotional drivers impacting your situation
• Becoming aware of how political and cultural norms impact organizations
• Listing the do’s and don’ts when navigating political waters
• Learning the benefits of establishing interdepartmental organizational relationships
• Discovering how to best communicate and influence others
• Learning to influence “up”
• Honing   new skills by practicing using new communication techniques
• Exploring the distinctions between inquiry and advocacy
• Practicing building a strong Persuasion platform through Credibility, Framing for a common Goal, Telling Stories, and Connecting Emotionally.

Duration: 1 day

Want to learn more about Influencing and Generating Buy-in? Contact us.

Course Overview

Have you ever noticed how some people are really easy to get along with?  Communication with these people is easy – when you talk, or send email, they just “get it.”  Conversely, do you know anyone who just doesn’t understand?  They want huge amounts of detail that you don’t have, or they can be so vague you have no idea what they want, or they need to know the end result before you start, or they constantly seem to be telling everyone else what to do?  

Wherever we are – at work, home, or play – we’ re always demonstrating our own Interaction Style – observable behaviors that are our preferred methods of communication when we’re trying to influence others.

Many times our Interaction Style can create tension and conflict in the workplace.  To reduce conflict in a team setting, it’s important it understand how and why we communicate; first for ourselves and then for others.  By focusing on what it takes to inquire into anothers viewpoint and engage in a genuine exploration of the subject, only then can we reach conclusions and decisions.  

Interaction Styles: Making Work Relationships Work, will teach the skills needed for this crucial component of human relations and to have conversations that have the power to solve problems, build teams and generate new options.

Duration:  ½-1 day

Participants will:

• Increase self-awareness of individual interaction style in communication, decision-making and conflict.
• Discover and understand the interaction styles of others and how to create a nourishing environment that promotes rich, productive discussions.
• Apply tools to practice difficult conversations
• Develop a shared vision and commitment for the team to establish a “Go Forward” plan for the team’s work and relationships.
• Target Audience:  Any individual contributor, manager or team member that wants a framework for understanding themselves and other working styles. 

Want to learn more about Interaction Styles-Making Work Relationships Work? Contact us.