AMA2576 Communication and Interpersonal Skills: A Seminar for IT and Technical Professionals

1. Differences Between Technical and Non-Technical Professionals

• Differences in communication needs/expectations of technical vs. non- technical professionals
• Impact of generational characteristics on communication within and outside of technical areas
• Analyzing your own work situation based on communication needs and expectations

2. Interpersonal Strategies to Help You Get Your Points Across in Diverse Circumstances

• Distinguishing communication style preferences to better understand and influence others
• Determining your personal communication styles with the DiSC® profile
• Identifying the strengths and limitations of your DiSC® profile
• Using behavioral clues to determine others' personal styles
• How to more effectively work with other styles

3. Strategically Applying a Communication System to Enhance Relationships   

• Verbal vs. nonverbal communications
• Assessing your own nonverbal traits and developing an improvement plan
• Criteria for establishing trust and building credibility
• Using a communication model to conduct more effective conversations

4. Developing Active Listening Skills to Promote Better Work Relationships

• Recognizing the role of listening in effective communications
• Knowing when and how to acknowledge emotions and ideas
• Applying effective listening techniques to own work situations

5. Communication Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals

• Constructing open and closed questions
• Demonstrating and applying the effective use of informing, directing, and criticizing

6. Productively Managing Conflict

• Using and applying the AEIOU model to assertively build shared expectations
• Determining your own conflict style using the Thomas-Killman conflict mode instrument
• Developing an action plan to apply these techniques to your own work situations

• Recognize and manage differences between you and non-technical professionals
• Deliver clear messages to non-technical professionals
• Apply verbal and non-verbal techniques to build shared understanding
• Strategically apply a communication system to enhance relationships and achieve performance goals
• Develop active listening skills that promote better work relationships
• Get your points across in diverse communication contexts
• Use influencing skills to complete projects faster and grow your reputation
• Be able to productively manage conflict

IT and technical professionals who need to develop the interpersonal and communication skills necessary to effectively convey their knowledge to those around them