Yes, we know it’s been quite some time since we wrote our last blog, but we were a little tied up. First in the holiday season. By the way, hope you’ll had a very Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year! And then in a rather unusual type of Communication Skills Training…
Why unusual?
Because this Communication Skills Training was in the garb of a number of other soft skills training topics. So, instead of us having to explicitly say that we are doing a Communication Skills Training, the participants realised it. In fact, by the end of the intervention, they realised that communication was the key to all the other skills. And it was important that they master the same. And that’s when we truly knew our objective had been fulfilled!
What we covered in this Communication Skills Training
The intervention was a week-long one. And had virtual modules that we delivered every day.
Day 1
The first day was a team building session which was to serve two purposes:
• Give the team a chance to interact with one another and have some fun. An objective that many teams working virtually need to fulfil, especially during the current lockdown scenario!
• Induct the new employees and give them a chance to feel closer to the older team and their new organisation.
While day 1 was primarily allotted for fulfilling these objectives, the entire intervention was designed to give the team multiple opportunities to come together. And as expected, by the end of the week, the team had a very different chemistry!
Day 2
This day was about etiquette, a very important part of every communication skills training. Aspects like E-Mail etiquette, Telephone Etiquette and Virtual Meeting Etiquette were covered. It was done, however, differently.
The difference? We didn’t do it. It was the older team members that taught the new members. They also added practical communication tips based on their prior experience. A move that would help the new joinees move quickly up the communication curve.
Day 3
Again, we covered a very popular and important communication skills training topic. How to have difficult conversations.
Like every other team, this team also had conflicts. Not so much, however, of the aggressive type. They were more of the ‘silent’ type. Through this session, the participants realised how important it was to manage these conflicts rather than suppressing them. They also learned how to have such difficult conversations while maintaining genuine respect for the other person and themselves. We also shared some powerful tools with them for managing the toughest aspect, their own reactions!
Day 4
This was an extremely interesting session. The team had been facing some difficulties during the Work from Home Scenario. And it was here that they got a chance to voice them out. They also created norms around these challenges that would help them manage these better. And guess what pretty much all the norms revolved around? Communication!
Day 5
This was a session just for the Managers. This managerial skills training session focused on managing performances. It helped the managers realise how they need to treat and communicate with each team member in a different manner. It also taught them how to have effective performance conversations with their team members.
So, that’s a peek into what this communication skills training intervention looked like. Not only did it give us a chance to work with a great team, but also provided an opportunity to do what we do best. Customisation!
