There are many ways in which people can discover who they are and what they can be. I am able to tailor-make courses to suit your needs, but here are some ideas to start you off. (More details can be found below)
- Active Listening and Responding Skills
- Working Effectively in a Group
- Emotional Intelligence
- Life Story/Memoir
- Facilitated Personal Development groups
Active listening lays the foundation for the development of effective communication skills based on respect and mutual cooperation. It involves a range of interpersonal skills that express your attention, empathy, and respect. It is about focusing and concentrating not only on what is being said but the accompanying emotions and feelings that are also being expressed and provides a safe format for the individual to have their concerns heard and to receive feedback. The process can support people to develop their emotional vocabulary and to understand and manage their feelings. As well as supporting one-to-one approaches, active listening can be used in groups as a basis for establishing trust.
These
workshops are ideal for anyone who wants to develop their listening and responding skills. They will give participants an
opportunity to explore ways of saying what they have to say, responsibly, and
in a caring, respectful and open way. By grounding my work in the theory behind Carl Rogers' Person Centred Approach, we will have a solid foundation from which to reflect on and improve our practice. We will:
- recognise and practice the skills of Active Listening
- try out new ways of responding
- learn how to respond in challenging situations, exploring how we can support and empower the people we work with
- develop our ability to relate with empathy and respect
- become more aware of how we listen and why we respond as we do
- relate to others in the group and experience the challenge of giving and receiving feedback
- appreciate difference and diversity
4 hour ‘Skills Practice’ workshop
6 hour ‘Challenging Listening Situations’ (tailor made to suit your needs)
Working Effectively in a Group
This workshop will provide opportunities for participants to explore how they feel about working in a group, and what they can contribute that will make the experience more 'effective' for them and the group itself. Individuals will be asked to draw on their own experience of working in groups or teams and will be encouraged to share this with the rest of the group. Using key texts (Tuckman, 1965; Adair, 1986 and Mearns, 1997) participants will gain an awareness of how groups work, and what can help/hinder their process. We will:
- develop strategies which encourage us to make future group working situations more effective
- develop our understanding of the subjectivity of perception
- experience the challenge of giving and receiving feedback
- become more aware of how and why we behave as we do in a group
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is “the capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well, in ourselves and in our relationships.” (Goleman 1998: 317)
Working with Emotional Intelligence:
Being emotionally intelligent at work means that we are aware of and can manage, our intrapersonal skills (what is going on inside us) and our interpersonal skills (what is going on in/between, other people). This can enhance our practice. Self awareness is the starting point in this process and through using the group and encouraging individuals to reflect on their feelings, attitudes and behaviours, we are able to develop the skills they already have and build on the competencies that might be missing.
Teaching with Emotional Intelligence:
There is evidence to suggest that when emotional intelligence is used in our teaching practice, then our relationship with students is enhanced. Engagement with the subject can increase; there can be greater motivation, a willingness to take risks, a readiness to collaborate with others and more creativity in the classroom. (Mortiboys 2002, 2005) Our workshop invites participants to become critically aware and, through group work and feedback, explore and understand their teaching roles within the context of Emotional Intelligence. We will explore simple strategies to encourage and support emotional intelligence in our planning and teaching, as well as discussing ways of handling more challenging situations.
Life Story/Memoir
Our team of three offers you an opportunity to discover yourself, or in the case of organisations, the individual that makes up your customer base and/or team of employees. You might want to use their story to communicate your organisation's story. By listening to what you want to learn we will advise you on the best way of getting there. We are trained to get the most out of the written and spoken word, which means we get results. It is our policy to work with people who want want to be there - it has to be voluntary!
- We provide a supportive and encouraging environment where this person can pause to reflect on the context/situation that you choose. We encourage them to think about where they've been, where they are going and who they are now.
- We will ask them to record (in writing or on tape) their experience of the situation/context that you have chosen.
- By using Group Work and Creative Writing skills, we will encourage these people to expand their boundaries and find different ways to express themselves. They will leave having experienced and learnt more about the skills of listening, creative thinking, self-disclosure and giving and receiving feedback. Your skills pool will increase as a result
- Our experience tells us that they leave feeling their self confidence and self esteem is raised. Their aims in life are clearer and they want to start achieving those aims. They are likely to feel valued by you, as people first. You might reap the benefits.
- You
will have full ownership of the written/taped stories, to use for PR or
advertising purposes, or perhaps for your organisation's archive.
Contact me about Life Story/Memoir
Facilitated Personal Development Groups
A safe place where groups of people can begin to reflect on who they are, what they do, and how they can support and challenge one another with empathy and respect. This is a place where individuals can reflect on their current practice, and through using self-disclosure, insight and feedback, discover ways in which their practice can be improved. This is for all people who want to discover creative ways of working and being.
The focus of these groups might include: effective teams, parenting skills, community groups, men's/women's groups.