Interpersonal Skills Track

• Sharpening Your Listening Skills
• A Grammar Refresher
• This is What I Really Mean: Assertive Communication for Productive Workplace Relationships

Sharpening Your Listening Skills
Greg Enos, Managing Principal, Time Communications Associates

Do you wish that you could be a better listener? Are you frustrated when others don’t listen to you?

Sharpen your listening skills and overcome frustration through techniques that can be applied immediately. This workshop will help you uncover what your listening strengths are, build a focused action plan to increase personal listening skills, and enhance your overall communications effectiveness.

We will also discuss brain function, gender differences, interpersonal dialogue and barriers to effective communication.

By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

• Describe your listening strengths
• Cite what your primary listening style is
• Explain how your action plan will improve your effectiveness
• Note your biggest listening challenge

You will complete the workshop with a draft action plan that can lead you to sustained personal growth. Post-workshop support will also be available.

To prepare for the workshop

(1) Write down the name of the best listener you have ever met

(2) Recall the results of a bad listening experience

University-wide Competenices
Communication and Continuous Learning

February 22, 2012
9-3 (lunch provided)
Walsh Hall Function Room

A Grammar Refresher
E. Wallace Coyle, E. Wallace Coyle Associates

Refresh your understanding of core writing skills. Avoid common grammar errors that affect the quality of your writing. Improve your proofreading skills. This workshop helps you to acquire the confidence to undertake short on-the-job writing assignments, which we will practice in class. At the conclusion of each section, you will complete exercises and receive individualized feedback to help ensure understanding and competency. You will:

• Understand the building blocks of English
• Identify the eight parts of speech
• Analyze sentence structure
  
• Review current punctuation rules and conventions
• Learn guidelines for abbreviations and numbers
  

Please bring three or four recent samples of your writing to the workshop

University-wide Competencies
Communication and Continuous Learning

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
9-1 (lunch provided)
Walsh Hall Function Room

This is What I Really Mean:
Assertive Communication for Productive Workplace Relationships
Joyce Jamroz, Partner, Jamroz & Katz Management Consulting and Training

Are there times when you need to refuse a request and feel uncomfortable doing so?

Do you work for multiple people who compete for your time and talents?

Do you work with someone who has a practice of borrowing your “work tools” without asking? 

Does a teammate constantly interrupt you when you’re speaking?

Does someone continuously fail to meet their deadlines – particularly when you count on their commitment?

Does a coworker have a habit that distracts you from accomplishing your work?

In positions that require interaction with others, assertiveness skills are critical to our effectiveness and success. Communicating assertively can help prevent problems, manage stress levels, improve self-confidence, and make a stronger impression on those with whom we interact.

In this workshop, you will learn specific techniques that will help you:

• Express ideas and opinions more clearly and directly,
• Disagree without antagonizing,
• Face uncomfortable situations in a straight-forward manner, and
• Say no without feeling guilty.

University-wide Competencies
Communication and Continuous Learning

Thursday, March 29, 2012
9-12
Walsh Hall Function Room