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

In a complex environment, work is accomplished through the collaborative efforts of many. Differences are a positive force if you know how to harness them.

Your ability to develop good interpersonal skills and create rapport in this environment can make—or break—your career. Get set to step up and become a "conscious communicator." Develop self-awareness, analyze situations, and consciously select and use productive communication strategies. You’ll find your relationship style, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and master the winning tactics to work harmoniously to achieve your goals.

• Build better rapport and gain the trust of your colleagues
• Discover the basic competencies critical to solid work relationships
• Develop flexibility in actions, thoughts, and feelings to better handle any situation
• Avoid mistakes and conflicts that may result from misinterpreting others or ineffective listening
• Influence and motivate others to first-rate performance
• Learn how to use direct and indirect messages accurately
• Build your self-esteem as you discover a new self-awareness
• Identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in your work relationships
• Understand values, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptual processes
• Understand emotions and how they translate into emotional intelligence
• Master the keys to excellent communication: observe, listen, analyze, plan, communicate

• How do you build work relationships
• Learn behaviors that support or undermine your relationships
• Assessing your relationships

Communication and Perceptions

• World view, perception, and work relationships
• Trust busters and how to fix them
• The five axioms of conscious communication
• Mirroring and rapport

Investigating Emotions and Emotional Intelligence

• Social intelligence and multiple intelligences
• Assessing your multiple intelligences
• Five domains of emotional intelligence
• Improving work relationships through emotional intelligence

Building Better Relationships with Ourselves and Others

• Perception, world view, emotional intelligence—and you
• Self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-concept
• Case study to understand your styles—and how to flex them

Relationship Building

• Managing assumptions in order to build trusting work relationships
• Consciously building trust at work
• Developing and showing a positive attitude

Express Needs Within Work Relationships

• Expressing needs and influencing others
• Performing an interpersonal needs inventory
• The shape and sound of assertiveness
• Completing an influential SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Profile

Relational Communication

• Identifying your communication style: how you relate most often
• Sharpening verbal and nonverbal behaviors and skills
• Applying direct and indirect messages for more flexible communication
• Using feedback and questioning skills to better understand others

Relational Listening

• Listening barriers and their impact on effective work relationships
• A listening improvement map
• Improving listening by asking good questions
• Applying active and reflective listening skills in various situations

Addressing Relational Change and Conflict

• Practicing relational change
• Addressing conflict and relational change
• Selecting your conflict-resolution style
• Planning to resolve conflicts assertively
• Resolving conflicts with work relationships in mind
• Developing and practicing a conflict-resolution plan

Learning Objectives

• Learn How to Build Rapport and Achieve Trust
• Develop Flexibility in Actions, Thoughts, and Feelings to Better Handle Any Situation
• Identify and Accept Personal and Professional Responsibilities in Communicating Effectively with Others
• Identify and Avoid Communication Mistakes Such as Misinterpreting Others or Ineffectively Listening
• Understand and Use Others’ Communication and Thinking Style Preferences to Influence and Motivate Them to First-Rate Performance
• Define Productive Relationships in Terms of Achieving Workable Compromise and Strategic Interdependence
• Identify Strategies to Improve Work Relationships By Applying Emotional Intelligence
• Create Ways to Be a More Effective Team Member and Leader By Using Polished and Conscious Communication
• Master the Keys to Excellent Communication: Observe, Listen, Analyze, Plan, and Communicate

Effective Workplace Relationships

• Identify Behaviors That Support or Undermine Effective Workplace Relationships
• Assess Personal Uses of Behaviors That Support or Undermine Effective Relationships with Important People and Groups at Work

Communication and Perceptions

• Identify and Accept Personal and Professional Responsibilities in Communicating Effectively with Others By Becoming a “Conscious Communicator”
• Evaluate a Model of Communication in Order to Be Conscious of the Direct Correlation Between Effective Communication and Strong Work Relationships
• Identify Behaviors That Erode Trust and How They Can Be Avoided
• Recognize Short- and Long-Term Implications of Communication as a Cycle of Continuous Responses That Create “Relationship Residue”
• Use Rapport Building as a Tool to Improve Relationships

Investigating Emotions and Emotional Intelligence

• Apply a Broader Definition of Intelligence
• Redefine Yourself and Others Using a Multiple Intelligence Model
• Identify the Relationships Amongst Emotional Intelligence, World View, Perceptions, and Effective Relational-Communication Behaviors
• Analyze and Identify Strategies to Improve Work Relationships By Applying Emotional Intelligence

Building Better Relationships with Ourselves and Others

• Evaluate the Impact of World View, Perception, and Emotional Intelligence on Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, and Self-Awareness
• Identify the Impact of Self-Perception on Our Interactions with Others
• Explain and Apply the Concepts of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in the Workplace
• Identify Your Particular Social/Communication Style—How You Most Often Relate

Relationship Building

• Identify Behaviors That Build Trust and How They Can Be Used to Build Effective Workplace Relationships
• Recognize and Mange the Use of Assumptions in Explaining and Predicting Others’ Behaviors and Reactions
• Apply Conscious Communication Skills to Assess the Situational Trustworthiness of Others
• Analyze, Assess, and Counteract People and Situations That Elicit or Exhibit Unproductive Attitudes

Expressing Needs Within Relationships

• Assess Interpersonal Influence Choices Using the “Need to Control” Continuum
• Analyze When and How to Most Effectively Use Assertive Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors
• Apply Insights Gained Through Completing a S.W.O.T. Profile to a Personalized Influence-Development Plan

Relational Communication

• Improve Your Communication with Others Who Have Different Styles, Therefore Building More Meaningful and Productive Relationships
• Assess and Sharpen Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors and Skills
• Apply Direct and Indirect Messages in Order to Flex Communication to Meet Varying Goals
• Utilize Feedback and Questioning Skills to Better Understand Others and Their Relationship Needs

Relational Listening

• Identify Listening Barriers and Their Impact on Development of Effective Workplace Relationships
• Ask Good Questions and Use Paraphrasing to Improve Listening Skills and Good Relationships
• Apply Active and Reflective Listening Skills in Specific Types of Workplace Listening Situations
• Apply Best Practices for Giving or Seeking Feedback

Assessing Relational Change and Conflict

• Assess and Adapt to Changes in Work Relationships and the Work Environment
• Identify Conflict Management Strategies to Fit Specific Relationships and Situations
• Synthesize Skills Addressed in the Program and Systematically Apply Them in Creating a Comprehensive Plan for Assessing and Resolving Relational Conflicts

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 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