Incivility at work is on the rise. The Civility in America 2011 poll reported that 38% of workers believe the workplace is becoming more disrespectful, and 67% believe there is a strong need for civility training. In an online search over 12 million mentions of “civility” surface, a 460% increase from 2010 according to Weber Shandwick, the firm responsible for the poll. Clearly, Americans are taking notice of the need for respect at work.

Building civility and professionalism at work goes beyond one-on-one interactions. A culture of civility is developed through systemic action plans, not just a one-time-training in communication skills. As people work together to create a healthy workplace, differences melt away and civility becomes the norm. In essence, our course goes beyond interpersonal communication – we will lay the groundwork to facilitate your employees’ ability to work together in creating a civil workplace where positive, professional relationships will thrive.

This course is highly interactive, and includes a workbook, activities and assessments.

Audience

Anyone and everyone in your organization.

Course Format Options

This course can be taught in a half-day, one-day, or two-day course. All of our courses are tailored to address your specific needs.

Description

This course covers a variety of topics, including: the basics of communication in a professional setting, gaining confidence and respect, conflict management, dealing with difficult customers and co-workers, positive language, perception and open-mindedness, listening skills, persuasion, and nonverbal communication. We will also work with attendees to develop group ground rules for professional behavior and departmental action plans for systemic change.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, attendees will be able to:

• Project confidence and professionalism in all situations
• Function as a more effective team member
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Communicate effectively with customers, co-workers, bosses and subordinates
• Explore their own perceptions, beliefs and values in order to remain open-minded
• Demonstrate active listening skills
• Practice professional nonverbal communication skills such as handshaking, personal space, posture and tone of voice
• Author effective emails and written communication
• Develop a professional online presence, and understand the power and perils of communication on the Internet and in social media
• Develop resilience in order to prevent negative behavior of others or personal problems getting in the way of professional behavior or productivity
• Hold themselves and others more accountable
• Avoid gossiping and understand the value in confidentiality
• Demonstrate assertiveness in a professional and civil manner
• Demonstrate skills in the art of persuasion in order to facilitate idea sharing and innovation with the organization
• Develop positive relationships with difficult co-workers, and communicate with them in a calm and confident manner
• Overcome workplace bullies, tyrants or aggressive managers
• Assess and understand their own, as well as others’, conflict management style in order to resolve conflict more effectively
• Assess their own communication style in order to develop a specific action plan for improvement