Archimedes Communication

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."

Joseph Priestley

WHY
Communication is the way we get anything done. It is how we articulate ideas, how we ask for what we need and how we gain what we need from others. It is a critical skill for business and personal reasons. However, as we all spend more time in front of digital devices, (PCs, PDAs, computer games, email etc) and less time with human beings,  real live communication gets less focus but remains as critical.

WHAT
Archimedes Communication focuses on helping people maximise their communication effectiveness at work.

• Advanced communication skills
• Cross cultural communication skills
• Influencing skills / Internal Influencing
• Teamwork
• Working with behavioural styles

HOW
Our programmes are in company and bespoke, as you’ll see here in each of the programme outlines, we have some core content in our main topic areas but how we put that together will depend on your requirements and critically what outcomes you want to achieve.

In all our programmes we use a wide variety of methodologies and tailor them to the needs and culture of the individual clients. We use some power point based traditional approaches, some theatre and active methods, using actors where appropriate. We make use of workshops and exercises to get people learning for themselves  rather than being told. We make use of  video feedback / photographic feedback where ever relevant, as seeing yourself communicating, seeing your own body language is a powerful learning device.   We use quizzes and hand held voting devices to ensure regular delegate participation even with larger groups.

We put great emphasis on measurement, consolidation and follow up because we believe that without this most training is at worst wasted or at best sub-optimised without it. We will always seek to design programmes with a consolidation element, and can design different formats to suit your needs, whether that’s workshop based, 121 coaching, face to face, webinar or  email based.

Click here to find out how we can help you.

Advanced Communication Skills

Why

Being effective at work is about inter-personal interaction with other human beings. Technical competence and good processes are necessary but not enough.
Without the ability to interact well with others, individuals often find it hard to be fully effective. Many people have a certain amount of natural ability and often receive some basic training in this area.
This programme will allow experienced people to sharpen and deepen their skills in this critically important area.

Key Topics

• Why is good communication challenging ? 
  • Filters
  • Paradigms
  • Assumptions
• Communication Style
  • Understanding different communication styles
  • Understanding your style
  • Establishing flexibility
• Establishing Rapport
  • How to establish genuine rapport with people
  • identifying and using positive body language
  • Common ground
• Questioning Skills
  • Identifying and proactively using different types of questions
  • The importance of preparation
  • Funnel questioning techniques
• Listening
  • "Air space" analysis
  • Listening to understand not to reply
  • Active listening techniques
• Messaging
  • How to make your communications memorable
  • Brevity
  • Repetition & restatement
  • Linking
• Body Language
  • 1st Impressions
  • Avoiding body language turn offs
  • Congruence
  • Movement
  • Voice
  • Sincerity index

Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

Why

The world is a global village now! Increasingly most businesses recognise this and aim to operate on more of a global or multi-national basis.
While this brings clear advantages to businesses it also brings challenges. To get teams and individuals from different nationalities and cultures working well together is not always easy.
The scope for misunderstanding is huge and damaging. This programme seeks to make delegates aware of the pitfalls and offers, tools techniques and skills to facilitate good cross cultural communication and teamwork.

Key Topics

• Difficulties and barriers to working cross culturally
  • Exploring the challenges of globalisation
  • Identifying and exploring your company’s specific issues
• Recognising Cultural differences
  • What is culture?
  • The dimensions of culture
  • Relationships
  • Directness
  • Status
  • Time
  • Emotion
  • Individualism
  • Body Language
• Communication principles
  • Avoiding UK cultural idioms
  • Avoiding jargon
  • Questioning
  • Listening & clarifying
  • Clarity
• The important elements of culture of your key partners
  • Demographics
  • Religions/ belief systems
  • Geography
  • Brief history
• Establishing rapport
  • The master technique for communication
  • Establishing rapport remotely
  • Finding common ground
• Process
  • Understanding the value of common language
  • Understanding the value of clear process

Influencing Skills

Why

Influencing colleagues, managers, employees and customers is how we get things done. It is how we achieve our desired results. This programme is designed to give people more awareness of how they currently influence and to equip them with the tools, techniques and approaches to help them develop their influencing skills.

Key Topics

• Influencing skills audit
  • What's your influencing style?
  • How effective is it? How flexible is it ?
• Establishing rapport
  • The master technique for influencing
  • How to establish genuine rapport with people
  • Communication channels
  • Body language
  • Common ground
• The methods of influence
  • WIIFM
  • Reason
  • Inspiration
  • Flattery / feel good factor
  • Deal / If I.. then you..
  • Appeal
  • Social proof
  • Engagement
  • Reciprocity
• Developing an influencing strategy
  • Influencing structure
  • Using multiple approaches
  • Flexibility, requisite variety
  • Matching styles

Internal / Strategic Influencing

Why

The 21st century  knowledge economy  runs on intellectual captital from people. It's therefore crucial that organisations harness the best ideas and innovations of their professional staff and ensure those ideas become results. However,  this is often easier said than done! .Today’s organisations often have matrix structures are global, large  and complex.Many professionals, despite being extremely skilled in their core areas of expertise, struggle to operate effectively at a broader strategic and organisational level. 

Internal Influencing is a programme that helps people develop their ability to navigate complex orgnaisational structures, influence internally, grow their organisational savvy, and get things done!

Key Topics

• Raise awareness
  • By using a behavioural styles model and peer feedback process
  • Learn how to use strengths and overcome weaknesses, as an influencer of change
• Challenge limiting paradigms
  • Challenge the negative "baggage" around organisational politics, power and networking that causes people to disengage
• Organisational politics
  • Learn how to navigate your ideas successfully through the politics within an organisation, avoiding the common pitfalls and false starts
• Power
  • Understand the different sources of power and who really has it in any organisation
  • Stakeholder analysis to identify their drivers
  • Develop power and capacity to make change happen
• Networking
  • Build the network of colleagues who are ready, willing,and able to help move ideas forward
  • Learn to approach people in ways that minimise friction and maximise credibility and results
• 5-Step process for implementing ideas / plans
  • Use a proven 5-step influencing process for getting ideas implemented
  • Recognise that it is more complex that just articulating a good idea and expecting everyone to immediately 'buy-into it'

Methodology

Our programmes are bespoke, as you’ll see here we have some core content in our main topic areas but how we put that together will depend on your requirements and critically what outcomes you want to achieve.

In all our programmes we use a wide variety of methodologies and tailor them to the needs and culture of the individual clients. We use some power point based traditional approaches, some theatre and active methods, using actors where appropriate. We make use of workshops and exercises to get people learning for themselves  rather than being told. We make use of  video feedback / photographic feedback where ever relevant, as seeing yourself communicating, seeing your own body language is a powerful learning device.   We use quizzes and hand held voting devices to ensure regular delegate participation even with larger groups.

We put great emphasis on measurement, consolidation and follow up because we believe that without this most training is at worst wasted or at best sub-optimised without it. We will always seek to design programmes with a consolidation element, and can design different formats to suit your needs, whether that’s workshop based, 121 coaching, face to face, webinar or  email based

Working with Behavioural Styles

The core of much good communication is having a degree of self awareness about how we ourselves go about things and communicate and how that impacts on others, with the same of different operating styles. 
The DISC system behavioural profiling can be used for team or individual coaching to help people understand their communication styles

Key Topics

• Concept and benefits of behavioural styles
  • Understand psychometric systems (belief systems/ personality / behaviour ) and how they fit together
  • Explaining the Thomas International DISC system
• Individual behavioural style reports
  • Individuals to estimate their own style and compare to their individual report
  • Peer feedback on their behavioural style
• Understanding each of the four key styles and interaction between them
  • Grouped into style groups consider the nature and requirements of that style
• Ways of communicating best with each style
  • Assessing the pros and cons of each style’s communication