Let's put it all together
Featured in the Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers training manual
By Eddie Davies
Category: Communication Skills
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
There are two keys to success – planning what you are going to do in any difficult encounter, and then having the skills and attitude to carry out your plan effectively. Many people find it difficult to think along clear lines when under pressure in difficult interpersonal situations, so this training activity gives them the opportunity to seek input from their fellow participants and then to get feedback and suggestions for improvement and help during the actual encounter. Participants have an opportunity to identify their own key issues rather than rely on an agenda introduced by the trainer. For learning to take place, situations must be as close to reality as possible. Practising and reviewing the use of new skills on a training event is, however, only part of the story. To be truly effective, participants need to try out these skills and strategies in real life and work situations. The training activity concludes with the practical application of the skills and techniques required for developing action plans that are based on a realistic assessment of their current situation.
You open the training activity by leading a discussion to help the participants focus on the range of difficult interpersonal situations they encounter in everyday life, at work and in a variety of domestic and social settings. They take part in an exercise that helps them grade the degree of difficulty of these encounters, and then choose a representative example at each of three levels. Once they have chosen their examples, you introduce them to a quick-fire technique for getting input and advice on what strategy and skills they could use to manage them more effectively. Each participant adopts one of these suggestions as the basis for a practise scenario, during which they can seek advice and help from an observer who makes suggestions for continued improvement. All the participants have the opportunity to plan and practise their interpersonal skills in a difficult encounter of their own choice. The participants then turn their attention to action planning and look at the relevance of planning action on their return to work at the end of any training event. You introduce participants to the three stages involved in developing an action plan. They identify their development goals and produce an effective action plan through a series of guided discussions with a partner. The training activity concludes with a plenary review, during which the participants tell the rest of the group about their priority goal for personal development and what first step they will take to put it into practise.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to examine how to manage their own difficult interpersonal encounters.
- Themes:
- Assertiveness,
- Coaching,
- Communication,
- Counselling skills,
- Customer care,
- Influencing skills,
- Interpersonal skills,
- Interviewing skills,
- Introduction to effective management,
- Life and career planning,
- Managing meetings,
- Negotiating skills,
- Performance management,
- Project management,
- Sales training,
- Self-assessment,
- Self-development,
- Stress management,
- Supervisory skills,
- Team-building skills,
- Team development,
- Time management,
- Trainer development,
- Women into management,
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 04:10:00 |
| No of Pages: | 26 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Kitchen timer (optional).
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers at the end of any course or training programme that is designed to improve participants’ interpersonal skills. It focuses attention on what the participants can do to put the ideas developed into action. The skills and techniques involved are applicable to any type of training course and the training activity can be easily modified for use at the final stages of any personal development training activity.
Download the training activity, Let's put it all together as featured in the Fenman training manual; Essential Interpersonal Skills for Outstanding Managers