Why you need Effective Communication in the Digital Age

Written by Rosy King on May 12, 2020. Posted in Business Administration Skills, Corporate Training Courses.

Why you need Effective Communication in the Digital Age

Brought to you by Rosy King @ Corporate Training Options

Is Face-to-Face Communication Dead in The Digital Age?

Of course it’s not. However, they way we communicate has changed forever over recent months and I think what we can all agree on two things.

That digital technology has changed the way we interact, communicate and work together
And effective communication skills, be it face-to-face or digitally, are still immensely important. So much can be lost or misinterpreted in poor communication, causing delays, lost production, resentfulness and frustration.

Technology can be a tool of connectedness

These days we can all connect, chat and collaborate with each other irrespective of where we are in the world. Teams, supervisors and leaders can communicate one-on-one if they need to, or address their entire workforce, quickly, easily and remotely.

Yet, it’s a challenge to strike a balance. We always have to remember that technology can’t fully replace human connections. It can elevate the business experience to another level, but can equally be the culprit behind a company’s doom.

In the age of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, it’s vital to determine which business functions should be digitised and which should not.

So, is face-to-face communication still a necessary skill now that digital communication is well and truly with us?

We’ve all had to learn very quickly to interact remotely, via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype or other types of online digital meetings. Now, online communication is something we all have to do.

However, we also have to strive to truly listen to our customers and employees, to discover how best to serve them. Even if you deal with thousands of customers, you’ll serve them better if you make listening part of your personal and company DNA.

While digital technology allows us to communicate with team members remotely, so we can collaborate and produce projects effectively, it is premature to think that effective face-to-face communication in the workforce is no longer required.

Why?

Because whether you are communicating with someone digitally via video, or face-to-face in the workplace, effective communication skills are paramount for your team, clients and organisation to prosper.

The Definition of Communication

The best definition of communication I’ve read is – “Communication is the process of passing information and understanding, from one person to another. In simple words, it’s the process of transmitting and sharing ideas, opinions, facts and values from one person to another, or from one organisation to another.”

So, while it is easy to jump on the digital bandwagon to communicate with your team members and clients, there are a few key points to consider before you do.

The benefits of effective face-to-face communication

Human beings are social creatures. We need connection and to feel part of something.

Face-to-face communication stimulates staff engagement, builds company culture and shapes effective outcomes. It also creates a sense of community, belonging and trust, where people are working towards a common goal. This is crucial for team morale and for an organisation’s growth and success.

Connecting with Team Members

Consider a team member who works from home and communicates by email only. At times he may feel isolated, undervalued and disconnected from his purpose, his team and his employer.

And because he feels undervalued and disconnected, his inability to communicate effectively may be costing your organisation leads and sales, and affecting his other team member’s attitudes as well.

Connecting with Customers

Consider our communication with our customers. Effective communication is vitally important, as it allows us to empathise with them, providing a better understanding of what they need and how they feel. Without this understanding, our solutions might be meaningless. Effective communication leads to empathy and understanding, which needs to be at the heart of proposing customer solutions.

In the words of Steve Jobs:

“I have always realized that you have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.

So, we started with: what incredible benefits can we give to the customer? Where can we take the customer?”

Reading unspoken non-verbals

Learning how to understand and interpret unspoken non-verbals in face-to-face communication, or via online meetings, is a real skill.

Being able to read a person’s body language and tone, being aware of their stance, appearance and the spatial arrangements in face-to-face communication, is key to effective communication in the workplace, and in all your relationships. It’s an important part of ensuring positive outcomes.

Fostering engagement and participation

By learning practical communication skills, you and your team members will have a collaborative team and inspiring culture that everyone will enjoy being a part of.

Once team members learn how to communicate effectively, they’ll have more confidence. They’ll be comfortable putting forward ideas and contributing, resulting in a higher level of employee engagement and satisfaction. Plus, a collaborative company culture means staff are happier and they stay longer, saving organisations both time and money.

Crystal Clear Communication

Ever received a text message or email you thought was impolite or rude, that you had to read a few times to understand? I think we all have.

In most cases, that email or text wasn’t meant to be rude at all.

It’s just that emails and text messages lack tone, body language, facial expressions and a personality.

Whether you’re communicating face-to-face or via online meetings, effective communication is about cohesive discussion and reducing the risk of misinterpretation.

Human beings are sensitive, funny creatures.

We all read and understand things differently, which can be a disaster, and upsetting for those you’re communicating with, if you can’t communicate effectively.

Some may think you’re rude and others may not understand you and therefore may also not ask questions, which can lead to delays on projects and many other problems in your workplace.

Of course, misinterpretations can be solved by going to see the person who doesn’t understand your email, if that’s possible, or by picking up the phone and calling them.

Don’t underestimate the power and connection of speaking with people face-to-face. It can go a long way to building relationships and communicating clearly and concisely.

Dealing with delicate issues using effective communication

In the movie “Up In The Air”, starring George Clooney, the plot covers organisations changing the way they terminate their staff.

They move from delivering the bad news in person, to holding the termination meetings remotely, via video conference calls. It’s an interesting exercise in effective communication, and demonstrates that in some situations, face to face communications is much more effective and empathetic.

In highly emotional situations, online communications can be too impersonal. While I don’t know if it’s the way of the future, you have to remember that you’re dealing with people’s emotions, lives, incomes, beliefs and values. And that can be tricky.

This is one of the crucial benefits of face-to-face communication

Whether it’s a team issue or you’re addressing a delicate subject with a specific team member, dealing with sensitive issues is all part of the process.

And based on our years of experience in training people and company teams in effective communication, it’s always beneficial to hold these delicate discussions in person if and wherever possible.

What if they work remotely?

If you need to deal with delicate situations with a team member who works remotely, the basic principles and outcomes still apply.

These include giving the person or people you are going to be speaking with

The problem that needs addressing
An idea about the purpose of your meeting
Suggested outcomes you’d like to achieve together

This gives them a heads up, and they and you can start thinking about outcomes, so you’re all working together to resolve the issue proactively, without attack or blame.

Effective communication, face-to-face or via digital means, has many components.

It requires:

honesty
listening and delivering information accurately
being attentive
and providing understanding

You need to be:

supportive
impartial
proactive
and take responsibility

Any communication, good or bad, face-to-face or digitally, must be:

clear and concise
built on mutual respect and trust

Why you should invest in your people, to teach them effective communication skills, both online and in the workplace.

With professional training in Effective Communication, your team will develop the skills they need to communicate effectively, both face-to-face and via digital tools.

They’ll be more confident in their interactions with fellow team members, clients, suppliers and others.

Effective communications training teaches you and your team to be professional and diligent in all your communications. It provides you with practical, useful tools to enable precise and effective communication in all situations.

Want to know more about our Effective Communication courses for you or your team?

The Effective Communication training course from Corporate Training Options provides learning outcomes which include:

Learning to recognise the impact of face-to-face communication and understanding the advantages of communicating this way
Understanding effective communication also consists of unspoken non-verbals
Becoming aware of your stance, your appearance, your voice and the spatial arrangements in a face-to-face encounter
Learning to choose your words carefully, to enhance your listening ability
This course also helps you to adapt your face-to-face strengths to online communications and media, via online meetings

Ready to learn more about Effective Communication?

If you’re ready to upgrade your skills to communicate more effectively, or you wish to tackle other new challenges, contact CTO today for friendly, professional advice.

We’ll discuss your specific needs and tailor a training course to suit your requirements.

Online training while working from home with CTO Online Courses

Tips to take Positive Action during Isolation

Written by webplanners on March 19, 2020. Posted in Computer Training Courses, Corporate Training Courses.

Here’s some tips on how to take positive action during isolation

Brought to you by: Rosy King @ Corporate Training Options

All of us need some tips to take positive action during isolation, because for the time being, life as we know it has completely changed.

Our borders are closed, sporting events are cancelled, and many businesses are shut down.

But with all the bad news, there may be an opportunity for you to do something positive, if you’re able to shift your mindset and take action during isolation.

So, let’s look at this from a different angle.

This threat is very real, and quite scary for us all. These tips are not meant to make light of the millions of people who will be negatively affected by this.

But at the same time, right now, the only thing you have control of when staying indoors and working from home, is your attitude about it.

Many of us will find this new situation difficult, and if you’re feeling angry or frustrated about it, I hope these tips will help.

Tips to take Positive Action during Isolation

It seems inevitable that we will have to stay indoors for weeks or perhaps months, while we try to stop this pandemic. Many of us will be working from home, when we’ve never had to before. Unfortunately, many more of us will be at home because we’re not working.

In these difficult times, you may be frustrated, angry and frightened. But what you do over the next few weeks and months, could have an affect on your life for a long time to come.

You could make long-term changes to your life

Let’s say you’re forced to stay at home and wait it out. Yes, you could spend weeks in front of the TV watching Netflix, or on the PC improving your gaming skills.

Or instead, you could think seriously about taking this opportunity to make some long-term changes to your life. This is your chance to do all of those things you’ve never had time for.

If you’re working from home, but business is quiet due to the shutdown, why not take some time to improve your professional skills.

Maybe you’re at home because you don’t have any work, due to a business temporarily closing, or being laid off. Now is the time you could upskill, so you become even more valuable to your employer when work begins again.

Or if you simply want to improve your life and you now have some spare time to do it, why not tick some of those items off your “One day I’ll do that” List.

Try Online Training Courses to Make Positive Changes in your Life

Here’s some ideas for you on different courses you could take to make positive changes in your life.

Dreamed of starting your own small business? Learn how
Like to start a blog or podcast? Get going
Improve your marketing by becoming a better copywriter? Learn here
Get fit with a 12-week exercise routine? Start now
Want inspiration to tidy your home? Tidy up today
Need to upgrade your computer skills? Learn Office 365
How about improving your public speaking skills? You can do it
Learn valuable money management skills? Build your wealth
Take a Microsoft Teams course & nail working from home Teach me MS Teams

This is your chance to do all of those things you’ve always wanted to. So, it’s time to shift your mindset and stop making excuses.

Yes, this whole situation is difficult, and terribly sad for so many people. However, there’s very little any of us can do about it. But what we can do is try to make something good come out of such a bad situation. We can plan to make the most of being at home.

What does our future look like?

We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t know when we’ll go back to work, or go on holidays again, or have a birthday party with friends and family.

But you do know that there are things you can control.

You can remain calm. You can stay positive.

And if you put your mind to it, and learn some new skills, at the end of this crisis, you may come away with:

A clean and tidy house
New blog content ready to post
Improved health and fitness
Money skills to set you up for life
A better understanding of your Microsoft Office software
You may have even started your own business

What is happening to us all is very serious. But let’s make the most of a bad situation. Stay positive, learn new skills and gain control of new areas of your life.

Take care of you and yours. Stay Positive. Keep Smiling 🙂

Want to take Positive Action while you’re in Isolation?

CTO has a range of more than 400 online training courses available for you.

See our most popular online courses here – CTO Online Training Courses

If you’re ready to upgrade your skills or to tackle some new challenges, contact CTO today for friendly, professional advice.

Customer Service & Sales training with CTO Customer Service & Sales training with CTO

7 Powerhouse Customer Service Tips

Written by Rosy King on February 19, 2020. Posted in Corporate Training Courses, Customer Service Training.

7 Powerhouse Customer Service Tips

Brought to you by: Rosy King @ Corporate Training Options

“The goal of a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.”

Sam Walton

Customer service is the face of your business, and you want to ensure that your team performs at their best possible levels, at all times. There are several things you can do today for your customer service team, to ensure they deliver excellence. These 7 powerhouse customer service tips will help your team provide quality customer service, and make lasting impressions on your customers.

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again, and bring their friends.”

Walt Disney

7 Powerhouse Customer Service Tips to Deliver Customer Service Excellence

Be Proactive

Don’t wait until there’s a fire in your business to wonder how you should put it out. Instead, be proactive. Have workable action plans in place to help your customer service team deal with situations as they arise. Practice the plans, so your team can deliver solutions for your customers quickly and easily.

Foster Open Communication

Your customer service team should know your business’s philosophies and standards. Every employee that has some type of interaction with a customer, should have an in-depth understanding of your customer service standards, so there’s no confusion. If there are areas they don’t understand, ensure open discussions are encouraged, to inform and enable your team.

Treat Your Customers with Respect

The saying goes: “The customer is always right.” While this may not always be true, it’s critical that your team treats every customer with the utmost respect and courtesy. This culture of respect should extend between employees as well.

Train your Team to be Problem Solvers

Instead of choosing to let go of a problem customer, you can train your team to rise to the challenge and work with them to solve the problems your customer has. Not only can this help build your customer relations, but it strengthens your employees’ problem solving skills.

Listen to Customer Feedback

Feedback will help your organisation to grow, as it provides you with new ways to constantly improve your services. Make sure your entire team listens to feedback you receive from your customers. Then use this feedback to upgrade your processes.

Under Promise and Over Deliver

You should go to great lengths to keep your customers happy, and this includes not promising things unless you are 100% certain that your organisation can deliver. Instead of setting yourself up to fail, under-promise what you can do and dazzle your customers when you over-deliver.

An example of this might be that you know your shipment of new products is arriving next Monday. One of your best customers is waiting for this product to arrive. Contact them, and let them know you can deliver the product by next Thursday. You have now set an expectation in their mind. So just imagine how delighted they will be when the product actually arrives at their office on Tuesday – two days before the promised date.

Monitor Your Competition

You want to outshine your competition, and one way to do this is to observe what they’re doing well. Then, take what you learn and incorporate it into your own customer service practices. This is a great way to shine, and also to leave your competition in the dust.

“It can take months to find a customer…. Seconds to lose one.”

Vince Lobmardi

Want to know more about improving the skills of your Customer Service Team?

To gain an all-star customer service team, you have to give them the tools they need to thrive. CTO’s training course – Customer Service Excellence – provides critical success training to ensure your customer service team is delighting customers.

Your team will learn about:

The value of caring about your customers
Trends in customer service
How you can make a difference by applying the human touch
Managing face to face contact and the benefits of active listening
The value of complaints and the service recovery process
Learn who the customer is and about customer relationship management
How to engage with difficult customers when they are angry or unreasonable
Ways to increase customer loyalty and those moments of truth
How to increase sales via customer service
Sales orientation and the nature of persuasion

After completing your Customer Service Excellence one-day course, your organisation and team will have achieved a number of learning outcomes.

These learning outcomes include:

Acquire tools to provide quality customer service and make lasting impressions on customers
Explore how customers define the success of your organisation, as well as a customer’s emotional behaviour, and how that sensitivity influences his or her decision making
Discover techniques to increase customer satisfaction through your behaviour
Examine the techniques for providing service through face-to-face contact, the factors that contribute to the success of that contact, and the benefits of actively listening to your customers
Identify the stages of customer management and recognise who your internal customers are – you will also explore value chain management and how to make positive long-term decisions that add value to your company
Identify the guidelines for dealing with unreasonable and irate customers
Take action to increase the loyalty of the customers you serve
How to increase sales via customer service

If you’re ready to upgrade your skills to provide Powerhouse Customer Service, or you wish to tackle some new challenges, contact Corporate Training Options today for friendly, professional advice. We’ll discuss your specific needs, and tailor a training course to suit your requirements.

—

Rosy King

Corporate Training Options

Professional Training – Exceptional Results

training@cto.com.au

www.cto.com.au

CTO Training Tip – Quality Customer Service

Written by webplanners on January 15, 2020. Posted in Corporate Training Courses, Customer Service Training.

What does Quality Customer Service Mean?

In your organisation, what does quality customer service mean?

Does it mean …

Customers are 100% satisfied
There are few customer complaints going up the ladder to management
A consistent, professional effort is made throughout your organisation to satisfy customers

The last item sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

If your group or organisation doesn’t have a stated customer service objective, perhaps it’s time to create one.

The objective should be quantified, whenever possible.

Examples of specific and quantified objectives, that could be set within your organisation, include:

Meet 100% of customer timeframes
Answer all customer inquiries within two days
Develop ten sales leads per day
Manage 80% of all customer requests from within our unit
Refer less than 10% of customer requests to tech support

Your customers can be called many things – customers, clients, members, co-workers, associates.

However, regardless of who your customers are, remember that setting an objective to provide quality customer service to them, is a requirement.

If you require Customer Service training in your organisation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We can customise your training to suit your requirements and present your training on dates which suit you.

Turn Customer Complaints into Business Opportunities

Turn Customer Complaints into Opportunities

Written by webplanners on December 5, 2019. Posted in Corporate Training Courses, Customer Service Training. Leave a Comment

Turn Customer Complaints into Opportunities

Brought to you by: Rosy King @ Corporate Training Options

Have you ever considered that you can turn customer complaints into opportunities? When customer complaints are handled well, and you provide your customers with a seamless resolution and a positive experience, this can be the key to success. These customers are more likely to come back to your business!

On the other hand, poorly managed customer experiences may significantly impact your organisations’ revenue and without doubt, any repeat business.

Here’s some interesting customer experience statistics for you.

Customers who have a positive experience with your organisation, will tell 4-6 people about it.
Dissatisfied customers will tell 9-15 people about their unhappy experience.
Worse still, around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people.
Up to 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain at all. Instead, 86% of them simply leave and never come back.

The “State of Customer Service in Australia Report” reveals significant gaps between customers’ expectations of excellence, ease and accessibility and the disappointing realities, with a lack of consistency and response.

That’s why it’s so important that each and every engagement you or your team have with your customers is consistently pleasant and solution-focused.

Of course, not all encounters start out being easy. All of us have had to deal with unhappy, rude or angry customers at some time or another. These customers may be upset for a variety of reasons – sometimes their anger is justified, other times less so.

However, whatever the reason, several benefits come from creating a positive environment for customer satisfaction, with real advantages gained when you can calm upset customers.

Here are just four of the power-house benefits you can experience when your team has learned the right skills to turn customer complaints into opportunities.

1. Generate Repeat Business

If your entire staff actively practices behaviours that calm customers down, these customers are more likely to come back to your business! If they see that you’re willing to work with them to come to a satisfactory outcome, they may change their perspective.

You have nothing to lose here – an irate customer is not going to be coming back; a calmed one just might.

2. Enhance Business Reputation

Creating a calm environment for customer satisfaction enhances your business’ reputation.

Customers will see your business as a place where staff will take their concerns or complaints seriously and work to fix them. They’ll talk about their problem and how your staff solved it, and this word of mouth can create a loyal customer base while boosting your reputation.

3. Improve Employee Morale

Giving your employees tips to calm upset customers or enrolling them in customer service courses can improve their morale.

They’ll come to work with confidence and know that they can safely and effectively de-escalate situations and calm their customers down.

Practising behaviours that calm customers will become second nature, and your employees’ job satisfaction levels will skyrocket.

4. Provide a Competitive Advantage

What sets you apart from your competition? If you have an arsenal of tips for calming upset customers, this can put your business ahead of your competitors.

Customers and clients want a calm, warm and nurturing environment, and this can add an aura of uniqueness to your business that your competition simply can’t compete with.

Need Tips for Turning Customer Complaints into Opportunities?

Remain calm and don’t take the complaint personally

This gives you a great start to dealing with the situation on hand. It helps diffuse the excitement and allows you to gain back control of the situation, whilst reducing the chance of further escalation.

Demonstrate Active Listening

Hear the customer out and be open to observe both verbal and non-verbal cues. When they are done talking, summarise what you’ve heard and ask any questions to further clarify their complaint.

Take ownership and be solution-focused

Demonstrate to the customer that you are well equipped and truly committed to solving their problem. Be their ‘champion’ in resolving their issue. Think laterally. You may want to propose alternative options for your customer to consider, so they feel empowered to make decisions and decide on a mutually agreeable solution.

Want More Advice on Dealing with Turning Customer Complaints into Opportunities?

Why not book our one-day Calming Upset Customers professional development course, and take your employees’ customer service skills to the next level?

This way, you and your team can learn to understand why customers get upset, as well as gaining the 10 steps needed to help and calm an upset customer.

You’ll learn the skills to empower your entire staff to foster the right environment for customer satisfaction.

In the CTO course – Calming Upset Customers, you and your team will learn how to:

Understand the importance of upset customers to improving your business.
Identify common causes of customer’s upsets, and learn why listening is a critical skill in dealing with them.
Be proactive in preventing upset customers.
Use various techniques to calm upset customers.
Practice management behaviours that calm upset customers and employees.

Reach out and secure your training with Corporate Training Options today!

If you’re ready to upgrade your skills to calm upset customers, or you wish to tackle some new challenges, contact Corporate Training Options today for friendly, professional advice.

We’ll discuss your specific needs, and tailor a training course to suit your requirements.

How to improve Professionalism in the Office

Written by webplanners on October 15, 2019. Posted in Business Administration Skills, Corporate Training Courses.

By: Corporate Training Options, Australia

The need to improve professionalism in the office is extremely important in today’s competitive world.

If you’re a Manager you understand this better than anyone, because your staff’s professionalism can be the difference between your business struggling or thriving.

Whether it’s within the office or with customers, the attitude of your people and how they interact with others has great impact on:

your team’s morale
effective collaboration
sound decision-making
the quality of customer interactions
and ultimately your sales

Professionalism in the office is something all members of your team need to demonstrate. These are skills that can be taught, learnt, and developed over time. Yes, effort is involved, however the positive effects on you, as a manager, your team members, customers and company, will be life-long.

Here are some simple steps you can take to improve your team’s professionalism in the workplace.

**Product Knowledge – this will only get you so far.**

Having in-depth knowledge and understanding of your field, your products and your services, is a must. However, it will only get your team so far.

You have to remember that people do business with people. And your customers will remember your organisation when you have professional, courteous staff, who provide them with relevant, smart solutions.

By focusing on these basic skills, you and your team will set your company apart from your competition for all the right reasons.

Attitude – Why Are You & Your Team Here?

Your team’s attitude to work and how they see themselves are key performance indicators of how you and your team perform and progress. When you empower your team and help them develop their professionalism, you and your team will also evolve.

Having a shared understanding of the team’s goals and their motivations (your ‘why’) will help everyone shift from a passive mindset to an active mindset. An active mindset means taking charge and moving from just reacting to looking at the “bigger picture” and providing solutions.

Based on our experience, teaching your team professionalism in the office will allow them to:

Set goals individually and collectively
Embrace change and office challenges
Project a professional image
Resolve conflict in your office quickly and easily
And much more

When you change your team’s attitude from just going into work and wondering what the day will bring, to making decisions about goals, you will find much more enthusiasm for daily tasks, commitment to the shared vision and importantly, greater job satisfaction and more opportunities to grow.

Image – What Image do You & Your Team project to Customers & Others?

When thinking about you and your team’s image, it is important to consider the entire package.

This involves your appearance, your verbal and non-verbal communication, your behaviour and skills.

It can be helpful to identify someone, or several people, in your workplace who you or your team members admire, and who project ‘professionalism’.

Look at the way these people dress, how they walk and hold themselves, and how they interact with, and treat others. Doing a stocktake on this will provide ideas and strategies that you as a manager can develop for yourself and the professional image for your team.

Organisation – Do You & Your Team ‘Get Things Done’?

Business is driven by results. The more you can get done, the happier you as a manager will be, as will your team and senior management.

However, it’s never as easy as it seems.

With a ‘big picture’ mindset, you will be able to look forward and set goals – both short and long term – for yourself, your team individually and as a department.

The next step, once you have laid out these goals, is to prioritise them. Some will be more important than others, some will be urgent and need to be accomplished quickly, and some can be put off for later.

Time management skills and how to set priorities are vital here. While it may seem unimportant or irrelevant, good planning at the start leads to greatly increased productivity and outcomes.

Any training you can do in time management and project management, will be an extremely worthwhile investment.

Communication – Are You Making the Most of this Important Tool?

The first thing to know about communication is that it is a ‘two-way’ street. Good communication involves talking and listening.

All communication is about the effective exchange of information. Good listening skills will mean that you don’t miss out on vital information and what your team members are saying or are concerned about.

When you are the one conveying information, it is important that it is done professionally and clearly. Two methods of conveying information within a workplace are verbal and written.

Verbal communication may involve video conferencing, meetings, and presentations. If you have paid attention to your overall image, you will feel much more confident in these situations.

Almost all workplaces use email, and it is important to think carefully every time you send an email. Make sure the contents and the tone will be pleasant and acceptable to anyone. A clue is reading it out loud before pressing send, as at times we can unwillingly come across as ‘short’ in email exchanges.

The other form of written communication that you may need to use is writing letters. Again, think about the impression your words will create, and work towards ensuring a positive reaction.

Lastly, consider your body language, as it too can provide ‘messages’ to others. Are you crossing your arms as you speak? Are you leaning in? Are you checking your messages on your phone? Or are you openly paying attention and showing interest in others?

Personal Skills – Can You Influence Team Members for Positive Outcomes?

As a manager, it is vital to think about how you interact with not only your team members, but also others you come into contact with, inside and outside your office.

While some people are naturally charismatic and professional, there are many skills you can learn to improve the professionalism in the office and the outcomes of those interactions for your team.

A positive and sincere attitude will help you cultivate the relationships you have with those people you come into contact with in your workplace. And it is also important to strike a balance between politeness, professionalism and being over-friendly.

Maintaining good relationships will mean your team and operations will move smoothly – and people who think positively are likely to bring additional opportunities their way.

Conflict – Can you handle it?

Not every interaction is going to be a positive one. Conflict is an inevitable part of being human. In the workplace, it is important to minimise conflict, rather than inflame it.

Conflict is very disruptive, and as a manager it’s usually your role to contain and reduce any conflict professionally, with minimal disruption or tears in your office.

Additionally, as a manager, at some stage you will need to deliver bad news, or review a member of your team. It is essential to always use tact, and to focus on the action or event that is the problem, rather than using language that resorts to personal criticism.

Choosing your words carefully, being supportive, solutions focused and professional will reduce the stress of the situation. It will also allow you and that particular team member to take any constructive criticism on-board professionally without impacting the attitudes and morale of other team members.

And while maintaining good relationships with your team may be obvious, it is just as important they have a good relationship with you as their manager.

Good manners and a positive attitude should ensure that you are all comfortable communicating with each other. If you have practiced the skill of delivering critical feedback in a tactful and professional manner, you will feel confident in dealing with your team’s feedback.

As you can see, teaching your team professionalism in the office involves them learning a range of skills.

It might seem like a daunting list. However, the good news is that all of these fields have been studied carefully, resulting in many books, articles and online material with excellent advice.

Improving these skills starts with identifying the areas that your feel need improvement. Break them down under each heading, and set a plan to develop your skills in that area. It is much easier, when faced with a flood of information, to work in stages.

Understandably, this can be a time (and energy) consuming process. You may wish to fast track your team’s professionalism skills and training in days – rather than in months or years.

In this case, it can be much easier to let the experts at Corporate Training Options conduct training for your team, to ensure they truly learn the skills of professionalism in the office.

Learn more about the course

In our Professionalism in the Office course, your team will learn all the essentials of professionalism, so they can:

• Expand their skills and role in your team

• Develop and maintain a professional attitude in all situations

• Discover proven time management tips and how to set priorities

• Undertake project management techniques and long range planning

• Make better decisions in six easy steps

• Learn how to communicate effectively for better results

• Write and present with confidence to other team members or management

• Develop effective presentation skills

• Plan for meetings and becoming an effective facilitator

• Build stronger relationships and networks

• Resolve conflict

• And gain an understanding of how they and you as their manager can have a unique relationship that will benefit everyone involved

Click below to find all the course details, skills and outcomes you and your team will receive from the training course – Professionalism in the Office.

Why Choose Corporate Training Options?

We will address your pain points and facilitate customised, onsite training that provides you with a solution to your immediate problem, plus teaches your team valuable new skills.

About Corporate Training Options

Corporate Training Options (CTO) is a Business Training Company, which provides training in essential business skills, via onsite, customised courses. The courses provide a cost-effective way of ensuring you and your team are presenting your best image to the world.

CTO onsite courses are presented around Australia and in many international locations. Your training is tailored to meet your requirements and can assist you to develop your skills in a range of topics, including:

Customer Service
Leadership & Management
Strategic Business Planning
Project Management
Marketing & Sales
Business Administration
Finance & Accounting
People & Culture
Computer Software Training
Personal Development

For more information on the range of Business Training Courses available, please visit the CTO website – cto.com.au

We look forward to working with you, to build your confidence, improve your efficiency and maximise your potential.

Rosy King

Corporate Training Options

Professional Training – Exceptional Results

training@cto.com.au

cto.noesis.chat/

Effective Communication Training from CTO

5 Steps to Effective Communication

Written by webplanners on September 16, 2019. Posted in Corporate Training Courses, Management & Leadership Training.

By: Corporate Training Options, Australia

Effective communication skills are a hallmark of a good leader and being able to communicate expertly is your golden ticket to succeeding in the workplace.

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

Tony Robbins

As you know, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.”

And this adage has never rung truer than in workplace settings. Without effective communication skills, misunderstandings can easily arise. This is something you want to avoid, as they not only affect work relations but also impact productivity, job satisfaction, and morale.

Effective Communications training is available from Corporate Training Options and can be structured to meet the needs of your team. See more details here.

To help cultivate improved communication skills in your workplace, here are five techniques you can practice from today.

1. Conduct open meetings

Open meetings are not about getting out into the great outdoors, although walking meetings are becoming more popular, and increase your fitness as part of the process.

Open meetings are where everyone can contribute, and are great for facilitating honest communication – whether it’s about a new project, a new policy, or a routine weekly team report.

The inclusive nature of an open meeting makes it ideal for expressing your passion and feelings about the meeting agenda. It’s also a great vehicle for getting your team to express their feelings to you as well. Make sure you allocate a specific number of minutes for each point on the agenda and let your team know the agenda in advance, so they can come prepared.

2. Send group emails

Emails are a convenient business communication tool. Through email, you can send reminders to your team such as quotas, reports due, important team announcements, meeting information, etc. You can send short notes of encouragement as well. Your openness to your team expressed through email communication will also encourage them to be open, through the same medium.

3. Hold one-on-one meetings when necessary

If there are team members who seem unsure about certain policies or office protocol, you can always take them aside and help them to better understand procedures, through a one-on-one discussion. You can also do the same when you need the assistance of key members in your team for a project, to ensure you’re on the same page about everything.

4. Encourage your team to attend effective communication training

Make effective business communication part of your staff development agenda. Any investment you make in improving your employees’ communication skills will translate into a more professional and productive work environment.

5. Be sincere and honest, and keep it simple

There’s nothing like a tense work atmosphere to kill openness and understanding. Speaking to your team only when you’re on the brink of a major outburst will be fruitless. The same can be said if you earn the reputation of not meaning what you say, or if you deliberately confuse the people you are addressing, to get them to agree with you.

Be sincere and honest in all your communications. It will help to build trust with your team, plus you’ll sleep better at night.

If you’ve made a mistake, admit it, own it and work out how to fix the problem. You will become a better person because of it, plus your team will feel much more comfortable to admit their own mistakes when they make them.

Keep all your communications simple. State what you need, and check that the person or team you are working with have understood what you said, and what actions you need them to take.

Thank people. As a simple act of courtesy, make it a point to always thank your team after each communication session, whether in person or via email. You will be amazed at how much people appreciate this one simple kindness.

In Summary

In order to thrive in the long term, you need clear and effective lines of open communication in your workplace. Make sure you invest in learning effective communication skills and you will reap the benefits.

See how much easier it can be to work with your people and teams, and how much more comfortable, open and friendly your workplace can be for everyone.

Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.

Paul J. Meyer