How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility

How well you communicate can make or break your professional image. It directly influences how others view your work and performance—as well as your prospects for career advancement and mobility. Unfortunately, being diplomatic, tactful and credible doesn’t always come naturally to people. Even when it does, such communication can easily be derailed by emotions and conflicts. To be a communicator who is skilled in all three areas, it takes awareness, training and the know-how to apply proven techniques to all kinds of situations.

This seminar will teach you how to choose and use the most appropriate words and emotional tone for every business interaction. You will gain insights into your communication style and the styles of others, while building skills to clearly and effectively receive and transmit information, ideas, thoughts, feelings and needs.

• Apply diplomacy and tact to be a credible and effective communicator 
• Manage the impact your communications have on your image 
• Define and leverage your communication style 
• Develop and demonstrate better listening skills 
• Understand the importance of perceptions 
• Explore communication style differences and learn to flex your own style 
• Recognize the impact of stress on communications and be able to adjust for it 
•  Know what makes effective, powerful communication and develop the skills to model it

• Understanding how perception and image can impact others’ perception of you and your performance
• Recognizing how diplomacy, tact and credibility are demonstrated through good communication

Communication Style Differences

• Knowing how style impacts the image others have of you 
• Flexing your style to communicate with more diplomacy, tact and credibility 
• Completing the Insight Inventory® to better understand how style affects your communication effectiveness 
• Flexing your style to gender, generation and position 
• Recognizing how stress impacts how you use your style traits

Effective and Powerful Communication 

• Identifying and removing the roadblocks to effective communication 
• Knowing how to positively impact the visual, verbal and vocal components of communication 
• Describing the Know-Feel-Do Model of communicating 
• Implementing strategies for powerful communications and practicing them 
• Understanding nonverbal communication as a critical part of the communication process

Effective Listening Skills 

• Applying good listening skills in order to communicate with diplomacy, tact and credibility 
• Identifying the barriers and obstacles to effective listening 
• Using good listening skills to build and improve your image 
• Knowing how ineffective listening can cost you and the organization

Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility

• Defining the five actions that make for credible communication 
• Applying diplomacy, tact and credibility skills to create more effective communication 
• Identifying how “hot buttons” make people lose their diplomacy and tact—and credibility
• Being aware of your “hot buttons,” and preparing before you face these situations

Learning Objectives

• Apply Diplomacy and Tact to Be a Credible and Effective Communicator
• Define and Leverage Your Communication Style
• Utilize Effective Communication Skills
• Demonstrate Good Listening Skills

Communication: A Matter of Perception

• Define Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility as It Applies to Communication
• Discuss How Perception and Image Can Impact Others’ Perception of You and Your Job Performance
• Explain the PIE Model and Its Relevance

Apply Diplomacy

• Explain How to Positively Impact the Visual, Verbal, and Vocal Components of Communication
• Apply Good Listening Skills to Build and Improve Your Image and Your Ability to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Identify the Barriers and Obstacles too Effective Listening

Communicating with Tact

• Explain How Style Impacts the Image That Others Have of You
• Evaluate the Opportunities and Challenges of Your Style in Working with Others
• Flex Your Style to Communicate with More Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility

Demonstrating Credibility

• Identify the Four Key Characteristics of Credible People
• Define the Five Actions That Make for Credible Communication
• Demonstrate Credibility in Written Communication
• Apply the Know-Believe-Feel-Do Model of Communicating

Putting It All Together

• Overcome Barriers That Hinder Effective Communication
• Apply Communication Skills of Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility

Download Extended Seminar Outline PDF