Course Highlights
This instructor-led communication skills course will:
- Highlight the importance of tactful and diplomatic communication.
- Outline the communication process and pinpoint opportunities to affect messages positively.
- Introduce the TACT framework for planning messages and other models.
- Offer techniques for improving listening and questioning skills.
- Suggest ideas for staying poised during tense conversations.
Course Overview
Some people have a way with words. They can navigate tense conversations without breaking a sweat, ask the right questions at the right time, and deliver difficult messages without creating unnecessary conflict. Others struggle—misunderstandings pile up, frustration builds, and conversations that should be productive turn into roadblocks. What separates the two?
It’s not personality. It’s not charisma. It’s skill.
This instructor-led communication skills training gives participants a set of practical tools to communicate with tact, diplomacy, poise, and finesse—not just when things are easy, but when the stakes are high. Participants will explore visual, vocal, and verbal strategies that shape how messages are received. They’ll examine how self-awareness, intent, and impact influence workplace interactions. And they’ll learn to plan their messages using the TACT framework, ensuring clarity and confidence in every exchange.
This isn’t a lecture. This is a hands-on, in-person communication skills course designed for those who want to sharpen their approach, strengthen their presence, and handle tough conversations with greater ease. Through discussion, practice, and real-world application, participants will leave with strategies they can use right away to improve their communication and build stronger professional relationships.
The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s).
Program Objectives
At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Discuss tact, diplomacy, poise, and finesse and their importance in workplace communication.
- Explain the four reasons why we communicate.
- Identify five features of communication and why they matter.
- Describe a model of communication.
- Identify factors that cause miscommunication.
- Demonstrate effective listening skills.
- Use questions to clarify understanding, build trust, and influence others.
- Explain visual, vocal, and verbal communication and the associated best practices and pitfalls.
- Explain the TACT model for planning messages.
- Analyze a message recipient and adapt the content to resonate with that person.
- Discuss the difference between intent and impact and the actions speakers can take to align the two.
- Leverage “I” statements.
- Choose productive and constructive language while avoiding absolutes, dismissive choices, and other words and phrases that can negatively affect communication.
- Explain the importance of message timing.
- Use the Johari Window framework to think strategically about how self-awareness and disclosure impact communication.
- Implement strategies for managing stress, emotions, and triggers.
Workshop Modules
- The Big Picture: Why and How We Communicate
- I Can Hear You Now: Listening Made Easier
- Other People’s Data: Leveraging Questions
- It’s Not Always What We Say: Visual, Vocal, and Verbal Communication Choices
- Planning with TACT: Thinking Through Messages
- Look at the Window: Exploring Self-Awareness and Disclosure
- Deflating the Balloon: Techniques for Decompressing
Target Audience
This workshop is designed for groups that want to:
- Learn techniques to improve tact and diplomacy.
- Navigate tough conversations with greater ease.
- Discuss their group’s standards and build a cohesive team.
Suggested Format
- One-Day Onsite Training Course
Questions This Page Answers About Communication Skills Training
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