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Welcome

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Welcome to the Essential Skills Program’s “I Am an Effective Communicator” training!

This training course has been designed to scroll like a website page, along with a drop-down menu to show each section and your progress. The sections are required, but the pace is up to you!

You will go through a total of 5 videos, on average 2-7 minutes long. All videos have transcripts and closed captions in addition to audio.

Each video is followed by open-ended or multiple-choice questions. Some of the open-ended questions are self-reflections just for you, while others may be completed in group settings, either online or in-person. This will be up to your instructor or trainer.

The learning outcome of this training will help you understand:

• what effective communication means
• why employers value it
• how to build a mindset for effective communication
• how to use action steps to practice the behaviors of effective communication

At the end of the training, you will provide feedback on your experience.
Are you ready? Let’s go!

Learning Outcome

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Understands how different communication styles can affect professional interactions at work.

Think about a time when…

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I Am an Effective Communicator – Introduction

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Self-Reflection

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Think about a time when you had a challenging time communicating with one or more coworkers. What were your initial responses or feelings when things were not going well? What ended up happening to resolve the issue and make it better, or did it not get resolved?

What’s Next?

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Now that you have reflected on your past experience with communication in a challenging situation, move on to the next section to learn how you can adopt a mindset open to effective communication.

Mindset: Ask yourself…

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Your mindset is your overall attitude and beliefs about how you view the world or your work.
Watch the video to learn how you can adopt a mindset that will help you effectively communicate with others.

I Am an Effective Communicator – Mindset

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Self-Reflection

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As a quick reminder, when thinking about communication, people can be a mix of styles:

• Active + Critical = Dominant Communicator
• Active + Accepting = Influencer Communicator
• Reflective + Critical = Conscientious Communicator
• Reflective + Accepting = Steady Communicator

Characteristics of Each Type of Communicator

Dominant – Able to make decisions, efficient, good use of time/resources
Influencer – Able to put yourself forward, enthusiastic, persuasive
Conscientious – Able to take things step by step, careful, logical
Steady – Able to sit back and observe, create harmony, calm

When you are in the workplace, what communication style combination do you often use? Do you think you are more a Dominant, Influencer, Conscientious, or Steady communicator?

Interactive Reflection

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You can think through this question as a self-reflection, or you can discuss it in an online meeting like Zoom, or in person with a group.
Make sure you follow your instructor or trainer’s specific guidelines.

How does your mindset influence effective communication? Complete the sentences:

• If I understand my own communication style and observe the style of others, then I can:
• If I only focus on my own style, or think my style is better than how others communicate, then I might:

Action Steps

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Action steps are small, practical activities you can do to help match your mindset with your behaviors.

Watch the video to learn how you can practice action steps that will help you improve your communication.

I Am an Effective Communicator – Action Steps

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Knowledge Check

Multiple choice

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Check all that apply
What are action steps you can use to adjust your communication when interacting with different styles?

• Get down to business, stay on task with dominant communicators
• Take notes, work in short bursts with influencer communicators
• Use statements like “I feel” rather than “I think” with all types of communicators
• Prepare details and expectations in advance for conscientious communicators
• Summarize back and plan for side conversations with steady communicators

Practice! Extra Resources

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If you are not sure yet what your style is, or would like to learn more, we’ve included a web link to a free DISC survey that can help you determine your communication style.
https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/
Please note: This is completely optional and is a resource provided outside of the Essential Skills Program.

If you decide to try it out, keep in mind the following:

• D (Dominant) = Active+Critical
• I (Influencer) = Active+Accepting
• S (Steady) = Reflective+Accepting
• C (Conscientious) = Reflective+Critical

Another important part of understanding your own style of communication is knowing how to effectively communicate your skills to others, especially in job interviews. WholeStory has created a FREE course to help you practice telling your “skills” story:
https://wholestoryhq.com/job-seekers/
Please note: This is completely optional and is a resource provided outside of the Essential Skills Program.

Scenario: What would you do?

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In this section, you’ll watch a video about a work situation and then reflect on ways to respond to it, using what you learned about how your mindset and action steps play an important role in communicating effectively.

I Am an Effective Communicator – Skill Scenario

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Interactive Discussion

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These questions can be completed in an online meeting like Zoom, or in person with a group in a guided discussion.
Make sure you follow your instructor or trainer’s specific guidelines.

Luis realized it would be difficult to get George on board with his plan. How did he think through each person’s communication style and adapt his approach in order to get his point across?

What might have happened if he had continued to not pay attention to the other communication styles in the group?

Self-Reflection: What would you do?

Open ended question

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If you were in a similar situation and wanted to share your ideas with a group, what would be easy for you based on your own communication style? What would be challenging?

Optional Interactive Discussion

Discussion

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This optional discussion is designed to help you think broadly about the concepts you are learning. You may participate in this discussion by meeting with others in person or by using an online meeting tool, such as Zoom, depending on your instructor’s guidelines.

As the training mentioned, understanding your own communication style and getting feedback from others can be incredibly helpful. Share with the group what you feel your communication style is (or what your assessment results showed) and what you notice about your own style in group settings. See if others that know you agree with your observations!

Summary: Your goals…

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In this last lesson, you will wrap up what you learned about communication and then reflect on your goals. Start by watching the video.

I Am an Effective Communicator – Scenario Debrief

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Goals

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As the host mentioned, understanding your own primary communication style, observing the styles of others, and being willing to make some adjustments can help your professional interactions at work. You can even use this with family members or friends. After watching the video series, what are some of your personal goals to build your skills as an effective communicator?