Listening
What's the point of talking if no one is listening? So much talk, so many points of view, but is anyone really listening? Experience suggests few truly are. And the cost for organizations and individuals may be greater than you realize.
In many organizations time is wasted in endless meetings. People talk over each other. Valuable ideas are lost. Mistaken products get built. Actions are directed toward misunderstood goals. Work has to be done and redone. Problems are not resolved.
The effect on individuals and its impact on the organization is even worse. When people are not listened to, they shut down. They stop offering their ideas, energy, commitment and talent. They feel devalued and disrespected. They disengage. Productivity and collaboration suffers.
Many behaviors pass for listening: silence, waiting to talk, faked attention, multi-tasking, selective attention. The list goes on. But it doesn't have to be that way. Invest in developing the listening capacity of your organization and its people. Then watch what happens.
Grau Interpersonal Communication creates listening training programs, offers individual coaching, and delivers inspirational speaking to respond to these and many other questions.
Conflict Management
Conflict is here to stay. Are you ready to handle it? Most people don’t realize that conflict is a naturally occurring phenomenon. The challenge for individuals and organizations is learning how to respond to conflict in constructive and growth-producing ways rather than relying on destructive habits. People frequently approach conflict with an adversarial mindset, which limits their possible outcomes. Others attempt to avoid conflict altogether in the hope it will go away… it doesn’t.
Professionals with enhanced conflict management and interpersonal skills are better able to understand the needs of their clients and develop the support of staff and team members. Knowing how to handle conflict productively is a life skill. When handled skillfully, conflict can become a valuable source of change, insight, and growth. Conflict can bring great benefit to those involved.
Grau Interpersonal Communication creates conflict management programs, offers individual coaching, and delivers inspirational speaking to respond to these and many other questions.
Speaking
When sharing a PowerPoint just isn't enough, adding the human element can make all the difference. Presentations come in many shapes and sizes from tabletop conversations to formal keynote addresses. Technology offers a dazzling array of options. Some truly enhance the message, while others destroy it.
Poorly prepared or delivered presentations waste time, while inflicting pain and suffering. They provoke hostility, generate confusion, increase impatience, and diminish the speaker's reputation.
Successful presentations skillfully blend passion, presence, and message. Flowing ideas and images that match facial, vocal and body cues captivate listeners. Effective presentations have the potential to inspire, inform, persuade, and entertain.
Most people lack the guidelines and formal training needed to present effectively. Knowing where to focus one's energy and effort results in powerful, high impact presentations.
Grau IC delivers presentation skill training, and offers individual coaching to respond to these and many other questions.