Building Better Work Relationships: New Techniques for Results-Oriented Communication

In a complex and fast-moving workplace, meaningful results are achieved through the collaborative efforts of many people. When differences are understood and managed well, they become a source of strength rather than friction.

Your ability to build genuine rapport and develop strong interpersonal skills can make or break your career trajectory. This course is designed to help you become a more "conscious communicator," developing the self-awareness, situational judgment, and communication strategies that produce real results. You will identify your relationship style, clarify your strengths and areas for growth, and master practical approaches for working collaboratively and harmoniously with a wide range of colleagues.

How You Will Benefit:

• Build stronger rapport and earn the trust of colleagues at all levels
• Discover the core competencies that underpin solid, productive work relationships
• Develop flexibility in how you think, act, and feel, so you can handle any situation more effectively
• Avoid common conflicts and misunderstandings caused by poor listening or misread signals
• Motivate and influence others toward higher levels of performance
• Learn to use both direct and indirect communication styles to achieve your goals
• Strengthen your self-esteem through a deeper self-awareness
• Identify the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within your current work relationships
• Understand how values, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions shape how people relate to one another
• Recognize the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in the workplace
• Master the five keys to excellent communication: observe, listen, analyze, plan, and communicate

What You Will Cover:

Effective Work Relationships

• What it takes to build strong work relationships
• Behaviors that either support or erode relationships over time
• Assessing the quality of your current relationships

Communication and Perceptions

• How worldview, perception, and interpretation affect work relationships
• Identifying trust-breakers and strategies for repairing them
• The five axioms of conscious communication
• Mirroring techniques and building rapport naturally

Emotional Intelligence at Work

• Social intelligence and the concept of multiple intelligences
• Assessing your own multiple intelligences profile
• The five domains of emotional intelligence and how they apply in the workplace
• Using emotional intelligence to improve work relationships

Building Better Relationships with Ourselves and Others

• The interplay of perception, worldview, and emotional intelligence in relationships
• Self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-concept as foundations for effective communication
• Case study: understanding your communication styles and how to flex them

Relationship Building Practices

• Managing assumptions to cultivate trusting relationships
• Consciously building trust at work every day
• Developing and projecting a genuinely positive attitude

Expressing Needs and Influencing Others

• Communicating your needs clearly and influencing others constructively
• Conducting an interpersonal needs inventory
• The shape and sound of assertiveness in professional settings
• Completing an influential SWOT profile to assess your relational strengths and opportunities

Relational Communication

• Identifying your dominant communication style
• Sharpening verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors
• Applying both direct and indirect messages for more adaptable communication
• Using feedback and questioning skills to build a deeper understanding of others

Relational Listening

• Recognizing listening barriers and their impact on work relationships
• Mapping a path for listening improvement
• Improving listening by asking better, more targeted questions
• Applying active and reflective listening in a range of workplace situations

Addressing Conflict and Relational Change

• Practicing adaptive responses to relational change
• Selecting the right conflict-resolution style for the situation
• Planning to resolve conflicts with the relationship in mind
• Developing and practicing a structured conflict-resolution plan

Course Outline:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define the Fundamental Competencies Needed to Achieve Solid Work Relationships
• Identify Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities in Your Workplace Relationships
• Consider the Impact of Values, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Establishing Trust and Respect
• Recognize the Role of Multiple Intelligences in the Workplace

LESSON ONE

Effective Relationships and the Role of Communication in Building Relationships

• Identify Behaviors That Support or Undermine Effective Workplace Relationships
• Identify How to Communicate Effectively with Others By Becoming a “Conscious Communicator” Describe the Implications of Communication as a Cycle of Continuous Responses That Create “Relationship Residue”
• Use Rapport Building as a Tool to Improve Relationships

LESSON TWO

The Importance of Knowing Yourself for Building Relationships

• Explain the Connections Among Emotional Intelligence, Worldview, Perception, and Effective Relational-Communication Behaviors
• Identify Strategies to Improve Work Relationships Using Emotional Intelligence
• Describe the Impact of Self-Perception on Interactions with Others
• Describe Your Social/Communication Style
• Identify Behaviors That Erode Trust and Those That Build Trust
• Analyze, Assess, and Counteract People That Exhibit and Situations That Elicit Unproductive Attitudes

LESSON THREE

Best Practices and Skills for Building Relationships

• Use Assertive Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors to Build Rapport and Influence Others
• Apply Direct and Indirect Messages to Flex Communication to Meet Varying Goals
• Utilize Feedback and Questioning Skills to Better Understand Others and Their Relationship Needs
• Identify Listening Barriers and Their Impact on the Development of Effective Workplace Relationships

LESSON FOUR

Best Practices and Skills for Building Relationships (cont’d)

• Ask Good Questions and Paraphrase to Improve Listening Skills and Relationships
• Apply Active and Reflective Listening Skills in Specific Types of Workplace Listening Situations
• Apply Best Practices for Giving or Seeking Feedback
• Identify Conflict Management Strategies to Fit Specific Relationships and Situations

Who Should Attend:

This workshop is designed for people who want to build better work relationships, maximize impact, increase productivity, and drive results by applying effective communication and relationship management.