Communication Skills Training

We specialize in workshops that help people get things done without ticking each other off. Mostly, that means helping people communicate more effectively.

To bring one of our workshops to your location, please contact us at:

doug@dougsmithtraining.com

Here is a selection of our most popular, and successful workshops:

Communication Boot Camp -
How to Communicate for the Results You Want -

One day workshop to help you develop the skills you need to create deeper, more effective conversations, build stronger relationships, and communicate with tact, respect, diplomacy, and professionalism. Add a second day to develop more productive meetings and learn how to deliver more powerful and influential presentations.

communication training, communication workshops

It's Not About the Slides...
Powerful Presentation Skills -

Get beyond the slides and into the hearts and minds of your audience. Whether you make one presentation a year or one every day, how you communicate during a presentation is either propelling you forward or dragging you behind. This hands-on, practice on your feet workshop will give you a fresh new view on how to best reach, engage, and energize your audience. One powerful day of training.

communication skills training, communication workshops

Get Stuff Done Without Making Enemies -
Productive Meeting Skills -

One day workshop to explore, discover, and practice the skills you need to convert your meetings from boring to productive. Whether you lead dozens of meetings or a few - or even if you find yourself simply a participant in dull meetings -- the productive meeting skills you'll cover in this workshop will change you from victim to guru. Make your meetings, your organization, and your life more organized and fun.

How NOT to Tick People Off!
Communicating With Tact and Professionalism -

One day workshop for anyone who struggles with interpersonal communication. Learn how to deal with the difficult people in your life, instead of saying what usually gets you in trouble. Practice thinking on your feet and reacting calmly under pressure. Take that foot out of your mouth and put it down with assertive assurance that you're communicating with tact and professionalism.

Talk About It!
Deeper Conversations for Better Relationships -

It's easy to fall into communication habits that just don't work. As a result, many relationships suffer most from a failure to communicate. We make stuff up, we distract ourselves, we drift off into our own little worlds. That's not the stuff of resilient, friendly, collaborative relationships. During this one-day workshop you'll discover and practice the CLUES to communication success that are at the heart of all of our work here at doug smith training. You'll learn how to truly connect. You'll practice conversations around any topic - even during conflict - that will promote true listening, compassion, clarity, courage, and creativity. Attend with your significant other, with your team, or as an individual -- just come prepared to dramatically improve your interpersonal communication skills.

Creative Project Management -

When it comes to project management, it is impossible to over-communicate. The biggest temptation to a project manager is to communicate less. During this workshop you'll explore and practice the fundamental project management tools while integrating professional communication skills to build relationships and teams so that your projects will be both successful and fun.

Bringing together the best (and fastest to learn and implement) project management and communication tools this workshop will help you with whatever phase of your project you find yourself -- from launch to completion. Two days.

Centered Problem Solving -

If problems are making a mess of you or your team, turn that energy around with some focused and applied centered problem solving. We've taken some time-tested tools and processes, blended them with our unique approach, and created new ways to focus, analyze, create possibilities, evaluate choices, and solve problems. Available as a one-day (exploration and discovery) and as a two-day (exploration, discovery, and application) workshop, Centered Problem Solving is an investment that will pay for itself over and over. One day program: $99 per participant. Two day version (work on solving real problems!) $149 per participant.

Contact me about bringing one or more of these workshops to your location. I'm located in the Bucks County, PA area so if you're near there there is no extra charge for travel.

Supervising for Success -

Two day workshop for front line leaders. You'll start on your goals and create the alignment and traction you need to achieve them. Ideal for front line leaders in any organization, we have deep experience (and time-tested tools) especially suited for leaders in the retail and service industries.

leadership training, communication skills training

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doug@dougsmithtraining.com

facebook.com/dougsmithtraining

@douglasbrent

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"Doug had an awesome way of delivering the content. Great advice and information to take back to the work place."
-- Tosha, Cherry Hill, NJ

"The enthusiasm of Doug was awesome! I definitely felt I learned more because he had many examples."
-- Jaimee, Des Moines, IA

"I learned so much more than I expected... I will definitely take these skills back to the workplace and share this knowledge with my fellow employees!"
-- Courtney, Schaumburg, IL

"Doug's positive personality really helped make this course very interesting and worth while."
-- Breanna, Bloomington, MN

"Doug was great! I loved how he shared life experiences to teach! Great guy!"
-- Lisa, New Haven, CT

"Overall wonderful experience. I've gained a lot more knowledge than I had anticipated. Great leader who kept the whole class engaged and thinking."
-- Ashley, Baltimore, MD

"Doug was very engaging & kept the class moving efficiently.
-- Sarah Pollen, Frederick, MD

"This training was outstanding! Doug did an amazing job. He was entertaining and knowledgable. Thank you for a wonderful two day training."
-- Stephanie, Washington, DC

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doug@dougsmithtraining.com

facebook.com/dougsmithtraining

@douglasbrent

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Comments

Follow The Script?

Have you ever had a conversation with a customer service representative and you could tell that they were simply following a script? How did you feel about that? Sometimes the script works, but usually it doesn't feel human to the customer. As we get more and more responses from actual robots, it's worth considering how much better we can give human responses as humans. Quick Service Do's and Don'ts: Don't just follow a script when you hear it's not working. Don't assume that the customer is wrong. Don't take it personally when the customer gets upset. Don't argue with the customer. Instead, do these: Do listen to understand the customer's needs. Do empathize with the customer. Do collaborate rather than dictate. Do think creatively, even if you need to pause, in order to find better answers. That's not the whole list, of course, but it's a useful place to start. No matter who we're talking to we should always be better than a robot...

Miracle Service?

Training is important. Service is a priority. But you just can't train someone to provide great service and satisfy a customer if the product is bad. Maybe for a moment, but not for long can you keep anyone smiling when the product is poking them in the eye. The best customer service rep in the world can't fix a bad product. Once you realize that you're dealing with a bad product there's no reason to be angry with the service rep. They know it's bad, too. They'd fix it if they could. They likely can't. When the product is bad, find a better product. -- doug smith Training Activity What if that assumption is incorrect? What if you really can make things better with superior service, even when the product is broken beyond repair? What would that look like? What would you train your people to say? What would it look like for someone to create such a great relationship with a customer that the product was inconsequential?

Something Else

We do it frequently -- blame people for what's wrong. And when we blame people for something they did not cause it often makes things worse because now they feel bad about it and maybe even defensive. Even though it feels like people get i the way of perfection, it's usually something else. Fix the process. Fix the rule. Fix the presentation. Fix the product. People are better than we realize, and seldom to blame for service breakdowns. -- doug smith Training Activity Make a list of the three most recent service breakdowns that you have experienced. For each breakdown, score on a scale of 1 - 10 how much of that breakdown was caused by: Process Rules Presentation Product People Now you know where to start fixing things.

It's Not About The Money

Of course we all need to make money. We earn our profits with honor when we provide goods, services, and care for our customers. It's possible to create a better world AND make money in the process. But, all too often, in that process we encounter problems. In the service of our people (customers, team members, vendors, regulators...) we should solve those problems. Sometimes, companies seek to monetize that process by creating problem situations that beg for solutions, which are then made available for an upgrade with an extra fee. Yuck. Short term that may seem smart but long term it's burning down the house you live in just to warm it up. The minute you monetize problem solving you create more problems. And those problems will be much harder to solve. -- doug smith

Surprise!

What have been your major changes? What magnificent visions have you had that you eventually released? Sometimes, to make room for the next great thing, we need to let go of the less than great wish we're holding onto. What looks like success at one point in our lives because less convincing as it slips away, hides, or becomes impossible. Life goes on. New dreams form. Greatness always welcomes us to new opportunities. If your vision of success changes, that is also success. You are now free to be great (and happy) in another direction. Life goes on; the joy in it is up to you. -- doug smith

A Frustrating Problem

As an old six sigma project manager I firmly believe that most problems are caused by broken processes, not broken people. But let's face it, some people not only don't realize that but they refuse to fix the process. If you know a process is broken, and do nothing to change that, the problem gets worse. If you can solve someone's problem but refuse to, you might be the problem. Don't be the problem. Fix the process, even if you need help. Because there are no perfect processes, but there are lots of people avoiding them. -- doug smith

Positive Choice

Yes or no? Certainly not maybe because that takes you nowhere. Yes or no? I don't always get the answer right, but I feel sure about this: yes is better than a guess. Yes gets us moving. Yes opens doors. Yes starts the experiment and learning begins. Yes is better than a guess. And, if you need to guess, guess yes! -- doug smith

Improving

Expecting good people to be perfect is expecting too much but expecting them to constantly improve is reasonable. Expecting everyone to constantly is reasonable. How can you as a leader make that happen? 1. Tell your people that it (constant improvement) is your expectation. 2. Support your people in their development. Give them the training you know they need AND the training that they ask for. 3. Coach at every opportunity. Check in on their goals. Ask about their progress. Ask how you can help. The good news is the more that you do those three things the more you are also constantly improving. And, there's nothing like walking the talk to get more people improving. -- doug smith

Growth

No one does everything. It's not about achieving everything. You don't need to achieve all of your goals everyday, but achieving any of your goals puts you ahead. What goal are you working on today? -- doug smith

Status

How much of your leadership relies on status? Status can be granted or seized, earned or burned. A frequent cause of conflict, people often compete for status even when they don't realize it. It gives way to one-upping others, to interrupting others, to manipulating others, all in search of some magic elevation to wear the crown. It's usually a figurative crown, but palpable nonetheless. It causes people to take things personally, all in an attempt to raise their personal standing. As high performance leaders, let's take notice. As centered and balanced leaders, let's place status into the proper perspective: it is not who you are. The struggle for status inevitably disappoints. Find the common cause. Create the common ground. Wear the common hat. -- doug smith

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