Communication & Influence Lab

Course synopsis

The skills that change a working week are rarely complicated — they are the ones people get to practise, try out and talk about. Skills Online Lab Part 1 brings together three foundations of personal effectiveness in one connected series. Participants start with how they respond to challenge and setbacks, move on to communicating clearly with different people and channels, and finish by taking control of their workload with practical prioritisation and weekly planning. Each live online session is a small-group working lab using participants' own situations, and the time between sessions is used to try a personal action at work and bring the experience back to the group.

3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Teams perform best when meetings lead somewhere, feedback is shared openly and good habits hold up on a busy week. Skills Online Lab Part 2 focuses on how people work together and keep performing. Participants learn to plan and facilitate meetings that end in clear decisions and owners, give and receive feedback that is specific, fair and useful, and build the everyday habits that support consistent performance without relying on longer hours. Each live online session is a small-group working lab with breakouts, practice on real situations and a personal action to try before the next session.

3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Progress starts with how people respond when something feels unfamiliar or difficult. How people respond to challenge, feedback and setbacks shapes how quickly they learn and how well teams adapt. This half-day session explores the practical difference between fixed and growth mindsets at work, and how language, feedback and habits either encourage or limit development. Delegates identify their own fixed-mindset triggers, practise reframing setbacks and learn how to talk about effort and progress in a way that supports others to stretch themselves. Progress over perfection, in practice.

Key focus areas

• Fixed vs growth mindset at work
• Recognising your triggers
• Learning from setbacks
• Language that encourages growth
• Feedback that supports development
• Building a learning culture

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Clear communication saves colleagues from having to guess what you mean. When messages are unclear, listening is rushed or communication styles clash, everyday conversations can create misunderstanding rather than move work forward. This half-day course helps professionals at every level, teams experiencing communication breakdowns and people moving into customer-facing roles communicate with greater clarity and confidence. Delegates explore different communication styles, practise active listening and better questioning, and learn to write concise emails and messages while adapting their approach to in-person and online exchanges. The focus is on checking understanding, influencing and persuading thoughtfully, and making communication more effective across colleagues, customers and other working relationships.

Key focus areas

• Understanding different communication styles
• Active listening
• Asking better questions
• Clear written communication
• Communicating online
• Influencing and persuading

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Time together should produce something the team could not achieve as clearly alone. A meeting should earn its place in everyone's diary. This practical half-day workshop helps managers, project leads and meeting facilitators plan and lead discussions with a clear purpose, meaningful participation and useful outcomes. Delegates explore when a meeting is needed, who should attend and how to shape an agenda around decisions rather than updates. They practise keeping discussion focused, drawing out quieter voices, managing dominant contributions and handling disagreement constructively, including in online and hybrid settings. The session closes with a clear approach to recording decisions, assigning ownership and following through, so time spent together translates into progress afterwards.

Key focus areas

• Deciding when a meeting is needed and who should attend
• Setting a clear purpose and outcome-led agenda
• Facilitating inclusive discussion and balanced participation
• Keeping time and managing tangents or disagreement
• Making online and hybrid meetings effective
• Recording decisions, action owners and follow-through

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Your expertise deserves a delivery that helps people understand it and feel its relevance. Whether addressing colleagues, presenting at conferences or representing the business, even experienced leaders and specialists can find public speaking daunting. This one-day workshop helps delegates manage nerves, find their voice and develop a confident presence in a supportive group of 6–8 people, with repeated opportunities to speak and receive personal feedback. Delegates explore how to structure a memorable talk, use voice and body language effectively, and engage an audience without relying on notes or reading slides. They build practical skills to communicate with greater clarity, handle questions calmly and respond confidently when the unexpected happens.

Key focus areas

• Managing nerves and building presence
• Voice, pace and pauses
• Body language and owning the space
• Structuring a talk people remember
• Speaking without reading slides
• Handling questions and the unexpected
• Filmed practice with personal feedback

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Good ideas move further when you understand the people whose support they need. Most work depends on people you do not manage, making the ability to secure support across teams and senior stakeholders essential. This half-day course gives professionals, project leads and specialists a practical toolkit for ethical influence: understanding stakeholder motivations, building credibility and trust, and framing ideas around what matters to others. Delegates explore how to map the people they need to influence, respond constructively to resistance and adapt their approach when influencing upwards. The focus is on making stronger proposals, navigating competing priorities and building the buy-in needed to move work forward without relying on positional authority or pressure.

Key focus areas

• The principles of ethical influence
• Understanding stakeholder motivations
• Building credibility and trust
• Framing ideas for your audience
• Handling resistance
• Influencing upwards

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Disagreement can become a useful conversation when people have a clear way to address it. Unresolved conflict can drain energy, weaken trust and disrupt productivity, particularly when difficult conversations are avoided or disagreements escalate under pressure. This half-day course helps professionals at every level understand why conflict happens, recognise their own conflict style and prepare to address tension with clarity and composure. Delegates learn how to open a difficult conversation, stay calm when challenged and find common ground without losing sight of the issue that needs resolving. Whether working through team friction or managing individual disagreements, they develop practical approaches to protect working relationships, agree clear actions and move the conversation towards a constructive outcome.

Key focus areas

• Why conflict happens and how it escalates
• Your conflict style
• Preparing for a difficult conversation
• Staying calm under pressure
• Finding common ground
• Agreeing a way forward

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Useful feedback gives people information they can turn into progress. Feedback supports performance, yet awkwardness, defensiveness and uncertainty can stop useful conversations from happening when they matter most. This half-day course gives professionals at every level, new managers and team leaders a simple model for delivering specific, balanced feedback, whether recognising effective work or addressing areas for development. Delegates explore how to ask for feedback confidently, receive it without becoming defensive and turn what they hear into practical action. Through peer learning and live practice, they build the confidence and skills to make feedback a routine part of working together, supporting stronger everyday conversations and a more open team culture.

Key focus areas

• Why feedback matters for performance
• A simple feedback model
• Positive and developmental feedback
• Receiving feedback without defensiveness
• Asking for feedback
• Practice with peers

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Better teamwork begins with understanding the people you rely on and how you work together. A team can be full of capable people and still struggle to work well together: roles blur, frustrations go unspoken, and nobody finds time to step back and reset. This workshop gives your team that time. Delegates look honestly at how the team currently works, what helps it and what holds it back, then agree what each person needs from the others to do their best work. A half day covers the essentials — trust, working styles, communication and team dynamics — while a full day goes deeper, creating space for real issues, role clarity and live practice of the conversations teams find hardest. Delivered face to face at your venue, in a group of 6–8.

Key focus areas

• What makes a team work: trust, roles and communication
• Understanding different working styles
• How your team shares information and makes decisions
• Handling disagreement and difficult conversations
• Agreeing ways of working everyone owns
• Strengths, gaps and using each other better

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Some of the most important relationships at work are with people you don't manage — your manager, your peers and the teams you rely on. This half-day session helps professionals build those relationships deliberately. Delegates clarify expectations and priorities with their manager, adapt to different working styles, and give updates that make it easier for others to support and decide. They then look across the organisation: mapping the stakeholders their work depends on, building credibility with peers and influencing without formal authority. The session closes with how to raise concerns and disagree constructively with more senior colleagues, so important issues surface early and respectfully.

Key focus areas

• Understanding your manager's priorities and style
• Clarifying expectations and success measures
• Upward updates that help decisions
• Mapping stakeholders across the organisation
• Influencing peers without authority
• Raising concerns and disagreeing constructively

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials

Course synopsis

Presence isn't about being the loudest voice in the room — it is about being clear, calm and credible when it counts. This half-day session helps professionals understand how others experience them and make deliberate choices about the impression they create. Delegates explore the elements of personal impact — voice, body language, language and structure — and practise making a point with conviction in meetings, presentations and online calls. They learn practical ways to manage nerves, handle challenging questions with composure and adapt their presence for senior stakeholders, clients and virtual audiences, while staying true to their own style.

Key focus areas

• What presence and personal impact really mean
• Voice, pace and pause
• Body language and first impressions
• Structuring a point with conviction
• Composure under challenge and pressure
• Presence online and on camera

Included in every course

• Interactive, facilitator-led learning
• Group discussions
• Breakout exercises
• Take-away materials