Workshops that Free Spirit Training & Development offer

1. THE ART OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is an essential skill for personal and organisational success. We are all in the relationship business and communication is the glue that holds relationships together.  Interpersonal Communication Skills are vital for relating to others in both the social and work setting. Effective communication is a ‘life-skill’ upon which sound relationships are established.

Objectives:

• Understanding the key elements of the communication process
• Ways & means by which we commonly communicate
• The benefits of effective communication
• Things that get in the way
• The power of body language – it’s impact & usage
• The 5 key dimensions of effective communication
• The 5 key communication skills
• Active listening
• Questioning
• Paraphrasing/summarising
• Assertiveness
• Feedback
• Raising delicate issues (Full day option only)
• Requesting a change in behaviour (Full day option only)
• Giving & receiving feedback (Full day option only)

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop - 3.5 hours

Full day option:   1 workshop - 7.5 (includes content in italics)

2. CREATIVE THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

An interactive and experiential workshop designed to encourage creative thinking in the workplace, plus tips for applying powerful creative thinking techniques when problem-solving and decision-making.

Objectives:

• What is creativity?
• Applying creative thinking skills ensures effective decision-making and problem-solving
• Thinking outside the box – tips and techniques
• Understanding the benefits and uses of creative thinking
• Thinking strategies (Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats)

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3.5 hours

3. CREATING "ZERO TOLERANCE TO WORKPLACE BULLYING"

Bullying can have a major negative impact on employees and an organisation’s performance. It can lead to stress-related illnesses, poor performance, absenteeism among workers and increased staff turnover.

The following 2 workshops are designed to educate and empower employees, team leaders, supervisors and managers by increasing awareness and providing a positive and proactive step-by step approach to the prevention of workplace bullying and steps to “zero tolerance”.

Workshop 1: Employee awareness and response to workplace bullying

Objectives:

• What is bullying?
• How to distinguish bullying from proper management control and direction
• Examples of workplace bullying
• Who are the bullies /victims?
• What to do if staff are bullied or witness bullying in their workplace

Workshop 2: Roles and responsibilities for managers and team leaders

Objectives:

• How bullying is defined
• How is this different from management authority and control
• Examples of workplace bullying
• Who is often involved in bullying
• How to know when bullying exists – signs and symptoms
• How best to deal with bullying within your team and workplace
• How to empower others to deal with bullying
• Liability issues
• How to maintain a “bully-free” workplace

Regular education and training is essential for the legal protection of you, your employees and your business. It is vital for businesses to develop a workplace culture that has a zero tolerance to workplace bullying if everyone is to feel safe, motivated, inspired and engaged within their work environment.

DURATION
Half day option:  workshop 1                3.5 hours
Half day option:  workshop 2                3.5 hours

4. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Conflict is not only inevitable in a team environment but a natural and positive element of success for high performing teams. Conflict gives us the opportunity to see things from a different perspective, to challenge ourselves and others to continually learn and improve. It is not the conflict itself that is the issue but the way in which we manage the conflict which creates barriers and ongoing challenges.

This dynamic and interactive workshop redefines the power of conflict and therefore provides participants with opportunities, tools, skills and processes to proactively and constructively deal with conflict & to both manage and benefit from the conflict issue.

Objectives:

• Defining conflict
• The beauty and the beast of conflict - and what it has the power to do....
• Typical sources of conflict
• Typical responses to conflict
• Proactive and constructive responses to conflict
• Mediating conflict
• Raising delicate issues
• Having those courageous and challenging conversations

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 4 hours

5. EFFECTIVE TELEPHONE TECHNIQUES

The key to excellent customer service is understanding and appreciating the needs of the customer and the customer relationship. This focused and interactive workshop captures that exact relationship plus overarching service concepts in relation to both internal staff and external customers. The end result being positive, proactive staff who have the confidence, appreciation and tools to build and maintain professional & productive relationships with customers and staff within your organisation.

Objectives:

• Understanding and appreciating the role of the customer in your organisation
• Defining positive and excellent customer service
• Managing attitudes and feelings to ensure positive & excellent service
• How to professionally present yourself on the telephone
• Tips to ensure you leave a true lasting impression
• How to effectively make or receive calls from internal & external customers
• Communicating effectively with customers and other staff in your organisation
• Responding positively with difficult customers and complaints
• Actively listening and using effective questioning skills to accurately ascertain your customer’s needs

DURATION

Full day option:  1 workshop - 7.5 hours

6. CREATING A WORK CULTURE OF RESPECT

Personalities and experiences of employees create the culture of an organisation. This workshop will make you understand the importance of respect for your colleagues, customers and others within your workplace.

Objectives:

• Defining what respect in the workplace looks like and feels like to each individual.
• Tips for demonstrating respect at work
• Understanding diversity and other cultures in the workplace
• The importance of respect for work colleagues, customers and others
• Understanding roles and responsibilities within the workplace
• Building and maintaining effective relationships within your organisation

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3.5 hours

7. PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE

This workshop will help you understand how your professional image gives you a powerful edge over the competition. Research indicates that 67% of first impressions do matter and there is a lot more to professionalism than an expensive suit. Success in modern business is determined by a combination of confidence, competence, attitude, demeanour and communication.

Objectives:

• Tips and techniques on leaving a positive lasting impression
• Understanding what professionalism means in relation to appearance and attitude
• Presenting yourself in a manner that is both true to your self and valued by others and the organisation
• Recognising behaviours that undermine your credibility and the credibility of others
• Understanding the importance of different types of communication
• Non-verbal communication — building rapport with colleagues and customers by developing strong non-verbal skills
• Social situations — projecting a comfortable, professional image at conferences and meetings
• Virtual presence — using communication tools i.e. fax, e-mail, text, video conferencing, and voice mail to project a winning image

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3.5 hours

8. BUILDING AND MAINTAINING POSITIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

This workshop provides tips and techniques to build and maintain positive relationships in your workplace. These include information on overcoming your fears, understanding the power and subtlety of body language, words, and tone, and tips to leaving positive lasting impressions with others.

Objectives:

• Recognising the importance of making a good positive lasting impression
• Respecting other people within your workplace
• Introducing different networking techniques 
• Differentiating between strategic and un-anticipated networking
• Overcoming the fears you may have about talking to strangers at a business or social event
• Preparing yourself to communicate effectively
• Building rapport with others comfortably and effectively
• Tips to maintaining positive ongoing workplace relationships
• Tips to creating a positive and supportive work environment.

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3 hours

9. MANAGING STRESS

Stress is a part of everyday life. It motivates and focuses us to achieve our goals. However, too much stress is both unhealthy and unproductive. This practical, interactive workshop focuses on identifying signs of stress and the effects it has on individuals and how to proactively and constructively manage this stress through the use of effective stress-coping strategies.

Objectives:

• What is stress?
• Typical sources of stress
• Typical responses to stress
• Understanding the impact of stress
• Proactive and constructive stress coping strategies to reduce and manage stress in our personal and working lives.

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3 hours

10. EFFECTIVE BUSINESS WRITING

This practical, interactive workshop provides participants with an understanding of how to communicate more effectively by learning some basic principals of writing and how to maximise the impact and effectiveness of your message in reports, proposals, emails and other business documents.

Objectives:

• Focusing your writing on the needs of the intended audience
• Identifying your audience and your key message
• Learning a simple way to organise your thoughts
• Ensuring that your reader understands the meaning of the document and what is required of them
• Effectively and logically structuring your main message to maximise your impact
• Editing and proofreading for excellence and results
• Knowing powerful techniques and be able to use them in your own letters, reports, memos, written presentations and even conversation.

DURATION
Half day option:     1 workshop – 4 hours

11. TIME MANAGEMENT

This interactive workshop will help you identify and overcome barriers to effective time management issues. Understanding of proven time management and prioritising skills will help you to focus on how to determine how much time, energy and resources is needed.
Objectives:

• Valuing time as a limited resource
• Roles and responsibilities – a holistic approach
• Identifying how we currently use of time in personal and work settings
• Time management matrix
• Identifying our own key time wasters
• Planning and goal setting
• Workload planning and prioritising time
• The art of delegating
• Fine-tuning assertiveness

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3.5 hours

12. TEAM LEADER WORKSHOP

This dynamic and interactive 3-day workshop aims to increase confidence, skills and potential in one’s role as an effective team leader. Targeted at emerging leaders and leaders/supervisors of teams within your workplace, this informative workshop builds on participants existing skills, knowledge and experience and heightens this to a new level of confidence and understanding of their role as a team leader.

All participants will have the opportunity during the 3 days to not only learn new skills and tools but to actively apply these skills and tools to their specific work and team environment through role plays, scenarios, peer interviews and self assessment opportunities. This highly interactive approach ensures maximum learning is transferred back to the work environment.

Day 1: The essential attributes of team leadership

• Characteristics & attributes of an effective leader
• Your role as a leader in the organisation
• The new age of leadership in the permanent white water
• Leadership versus management
• Leadership styles
• Situational leadership
• Key roles within a high performing team using Belbin's Team Type Inventory
• Identifying you own key strengths & natural contributions within a team

Day 2: The essential skills of effective team leadership

• Effective communication skills
• Effective planning & goal setting, problem solving & decision making
• Time management & workload planning
• The art of delegation
• Managing performance & setting performance objectives
• Motivating & influencing others
• Building & maintaining effective relationships
• Requesting a change in behaviour
• Managing conflict & misunderstanding within the workplace
• Training, coaching & mentoring

Day 3: Transitioning from being in the team to leading the team

• Identifying your key roles & responsibilities
• Establishing your authority & role right from the start
• Building professional, positive & productiveness working relationships
• Communicating with confidence & purpose
• Finetuning your assertiveness

13. MOTIVATING AND INFLUENCING OTHERS

An interactive workshop designed to help understand what motivation means to you and what it means to others. It covers the process of creating a positive environment within your organisation by establishing and maintaining a positive work relationship with your colleagues.

Objectives:

• What is motivation?
• Understanding what motivates you and others
• How to create a motivating work environment
• Tips for building and maintaining positive relationships in the workplace
• Effective communications skills to motivate, engage and inspire
• Giving and receiving constructive feedback
• The art of delegation

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3.5 hours

14. TEAM BUILDING – TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Objectives:

• Have fun and build a sense of “team”.
• Experience the importance of teamwork, team trust and mutual support.
• Enhance the level of trust, rapport and team spirit within the team.
• Recognise and value the strengths and abilities of individual members within the team.
• Define and develop team values and team norms.
• Build and develop communication skills within the team.
• Strengthen the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of the team.

NB: These are a selection of the objectives that can be achieved in a personally designed in a full day’s team building programme. These objectives are not limited to those listed above.

Further specific learning outcomes

• Communication and information sharing
• Problem solving and decision making
• Planning and goal setting
• Leadership styles
• Conflict resolution
• Performance management – results management
• Stress management
• Time management

Programme structure
To effectively achieve the objectives outlined above, we recommend a full-day programme where teams begin with communication and trust development followed by series of fun, dynamic team challenges that draw upon team initiative and cooperative problem-solving activities.

This culminates in an ultimate team challenge that requires smaller project groups to race against themselves and each other supported with debrief and learning transfers to the workplace. A selection of indoor and outdoor options are available depending on the needs of the team, individuals within it and your overall organisational objectives – in this case, fun, social, interactive team building, with a sense of healthy competition thrown into the mix.

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3 to 4 hours
Full day option:  1 workshop – 6 to 8 hours

15. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

A practical workshop aimed to provide an understanding of performance management and how best to use it in your organisation to ensure maximum staff performance and staff satisfaction, plus tips and techniques to ensure a positive and constructive performance interview for you and your staff.

Objectives:

• What is “performance management”?
• Benefits of managing performance – why do it? How best to measure performance
• How best to appraise and review performance
• How to run an effective performance interview
• Tips on giving feedback positively and constructively requesting change behaviour
• Setting performance objectives

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 4 hours

16. INTERVIEWING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

This workshop will increase your confidence and effectiveness in the interview process through specific interview skills, tools and techniques, plus tips for effective interview questions and reference checking.

Objectives:

• The purpose of the interview - why interview?
• Types of interviews
• The role of the interviewer(s)
• Interviewing skills and questioning techniques
• Interview assessment
• Reference checking
• Interview pitfalls

DURATION
Half day option:  1 workshop – 3 hours

17. CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION 

This half-day fun, informative and interactive workshop is designed to develop dynamic intercultural communication skills and cultural competence to enhance individual confidence and understanding, relationships and business operations.

Objectives:

• The value for us all taking the time to “get it right”
• The impact of communication - verbal and non verbal,
• Tips for effective cross cultural communication
• Decision-making techniques across cultures
• Business etiquette and protocol

DURATION

Half day option:           1 workshop – 4 hours