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The Workshop - The KENNA Company offers effective, fun, thought-provoking, interactive customized Communication Skills Workshops for our clients that address their specific and unique issues. As with issues like diversity, communication skills rely on the individual understand themselves AND others. We are all unique and different. This workshop is part of the communications solution.

The Problem - We have worked with organizations in a wide variety of fields and find a number of almost consistant needs. One of the most pressing is the need to improve communication & interpersonal skills. Effective communication skills is a core competency at all levels - especially senior management team, department teams, sales force, customer service.There are a number of factors at work here:

Lack of Awareness of Styles - Most of us think we have good communication skills. We have ways that we like to communicate. For instance, in dealing with problems and decisions, some of us are very direct. We say what we think. Some of us take the opposite approach. We are more indirect. We talk about things, but try to approach problems and decisions more slowly and are more comfortable with consensus. Think of this as a continuum with each end representing the extreme opposite of the other end. Everyone is somewhere on that continuum when it comes to, in this example, making decisions and solving problems. For two people whose styles are different, the difference can cause a number of negative feelings and actions including conflict, lack of respect and resentment. If each person understands the other's style, there are effective ways of 'meeting in the middle' or even learning from and leveraging the strengths of the other person’s style. The point is that differences and even similarities in style can cause the individuals to limit or stop communicating. One key is to make certain employees understand their own styles and the styles of those the work with including customers.

Lack of Awareness of Motivators - In addition to behavioral differences there are differences in how the individuals are motivated – why the do what they do and what they care about. If the most important motivator to one individual is getting results and the other person is motivated by doing what's right for other people, the same issue (such as an incentive plan) will be framed differently in the mind of each person. One individual may be more interested in how much money they can make and the other person may be concerned that the incentive will force the company to raise prices which will hurt certain customers. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to have arguments about an issue because they are not hearing it expressed in a way that addresses their needs, concerns and motivators. Often these individuals actually agree, but they don’t recognize their agreement. (Have you ever heard this type of argument and said to the participants: "You're both saying the same thing!"?) The key with motivators is to understand how you – and others – are motivated and acknowledge that in the communication process.

Lack of Good Listening Skills - There is a lot of noise and distraction in most of our lives and minds. It’s caused by machines, phones, other people talking, what happened in the last meeting or at home last night; it’s caused by the deadline that's looming because of the ‘urgent’ project your boss or customer has you working on; it’s caused by people interrupting you; it’s caused by fatigue. Inadequate listening skills are epidemic in companies. It affects both the sender and receiver of the message. Sometimes, poor listening skills is caused by our style - we are feel so strongly about something or we are so outgoing that we listen 'with our response running'. We wait for the sender to take a breath so we can say what we are thinking. If you are the sender, you become frustrated because when someone is not listening, you know it. If you are the receiver, you are not hearing what could be very valuable information.

Prioritization - Effective communication takes time and effort. For some people, the effort seems to be too great a price to pay. Rather than meet with someone face to face or by phone, we send an e-mail (which we don't think about enough resulting in the receiver interpreting your ‘intent) or we don’t interact often enough. Managers often say that they do not spend more time with their subordinates because they have so much to do. Subordinated say they could be more effective and more satisfied with their job if their manager spent more time coaching and developing them.

The Solution - The KENNA Company offers effective, fun, thought-provoking, interactive workshops customized for our clients that address their specific and unique issues. While this workshop is part of the communications solution, the other part of the solution rests with the participants. If they want to become more effective in interpersonal communication, they must be willing to work – not just during the workshop, but after the workshop.

1. The Mirror - Prior to a workshop, participants complete a set of assessments that will help them understand themselves much better. This is the foundation. It is only with a realistic self knowledge that we can understand how those around us see us. The assessments address our styles, motivations and emotions. In management groups we also look at competencies and how the participant values various competencies connected to communications. We also encourage our clients to let us talk with some of the participants prior to a workshop so that we can further customize the workshop to target specific needs.

2. The Window - We use this information, then, to help participants understand their styles and styles different from theirs. We help them understand that different does not mean wrong. We teach them how to to flex or adapt to the situation and person. We demonstrate how this benefits communication and relationship results.

3. Two Ears and One Mouth - We help participants understand the dynamics of effective listening and common barriers. We provide tools to help each participant become a more effective listener.

4. What's In It For Me? - We help participants define their priorities – where do they most need to improve their communication skills. What are their biggest hurdles? How will they measure their progress? These questions must be clearly answered in the mind of each workshop participant. If not, the level of commitment after the workshop will be low. We also give the participants an effective way of digging deeper after the workshop to reinforce and grow their ability to improve their interpersonal communication abilities.

Assessments Used - TTI assessments are used because of their validity, reliability, the breadth of information they provide and because their assessments yield reports that are easy to understand and are useful during and after the workshop. TTI is the leader in assessment and survey development. Every 9.2 seconds a TTI assessment is completed online. In addition, TTI assessments and surveys are completed via the Internet. Even if participants have been through similar workshops discussing behaviors before, you can be assured the TTI reports they receive will be accurate, practical, pragmatic and useable. Everyone will benefit.

Samples of Assessments Used In Workshop - Assessments can be purchased separately. Also, Train-the-Trainers workshops are available and encouraged in large organizations. Samples of assessments follow:

TTI Success Insights - Management / Staff

TTI Success Insights - Workplace Motivators

The Pay Off For Your Company - Right now, employers all over the world are embracing the importance of improving self-awareness and communication skills. They realize that with an investment on their part, employees can increase effectiveness, productivity and job satisfaction.

Who Will Benefit From This Workshop? - We have conducted this training for Management Teams, Sales Teams, Departments, Managers, Clergy, Not-for-Profits, Customer Service Groups and Franchise Companies. All have given this workshop the highest ratings. Many, after having top teams participate in a workshop, have opened the workshop up to their entire organization. Those who benefit most are: Senior Management and their Staffs, Managers with people responsibilities and Sales people. The reason for sales people is that their clients all have different styles. Often, though, they are sold the same. Recognizing and adapting to the style of the customer will improve communication and increase sales.

Cost Effective - The increased level of effective productivity, personal effectiveness, reduced conflict and job satisfaction that results from this workshop results in strong ROI. This workshop is an investment in the success of your organization.

Contact Us - Contact us to discuss how we can help you hire and retain top talent, improve communications skills within your existing employees, book a workshop or tele-class today, or simply to learn more about how we can help you! joe@1039136.sites.myregisteredsite.com 816-943-0868