Who Are You Now?

Andrea taught 'active listening skills' in an interactive and non-threatening way and all of us came away from the session with real tools to use in our relationships with clients."

Angela Sellens Drake MAR
Pathways School of Reflexology


2009 Programme


It's all about Developing Relationships
The Person Centred Approach to Business Development
Duration: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Client: Project Evolve, University of East Anglia
Cost: 
Free to those Registered with Project Evolve
To see if you are eligible, click here and follow the instructions
Venue and Dates:
14th December, 2009 (Norwich)
1st March, 2010 (Cromer)
10th May, 2010 (tba)


Can you hear me?
(A short Personal Development course in Listening Skills and Self Awareness)

We are offering a series of 6 week courses - an introduction to listening skills and self awareness.

Duration: 12 hours with two tutors
Cost:
120 pounds
To go on a mailing list for future courses:
Annie Lawton on 01603-702262 or annie@lawtons.org.uk or Andrea Rippon on andrea@whoareyounow.co.uk

Are you listening to me?
Do I ever feel really listened to, heard, understood?
How well do I listen to others – to my friends, my partner, my children?
Can I listen to myself?
Do I know how I feel in different situations, as I meet different people?
Do I know what that might mean?

This course will be based on the person-centred approach to counselling and will give you the opportunity to develop your understanding and practice of active listening and relating in a way that embodies an attitude of genuine, non-judgemental understanding. There will be experiential group work to help foster the self awareness needed to develop these essential qualities. There will be opportunities to practice listening to others using listening skills in a caring, respectful and open manner and you will be encouraged to reflect and learn.

FEEDBACK 2009
SCHOOLS
Engaging Pupils in Personalised Learning: Active Listening and Responding Skills for Teachers

Client: Surlingham Community Primary School, Norfolk

2 November, 2009
10am-4pm

I had heard about Person Centred Active Listening Skills but, until today, I didn’t really know much about it. It has been useful and I will think carefully about how I listen.

The focus on listening and how to listen was useful.  Keeping my own experiences separate and being able to recognise the feelings of someone else was important to my learning. I will try to analyse situations less! Thank you for the useful pointers for dealing with situations. Objectives met well!

I
found the course beneficial as new ideas/things to say could give a more positive result, than the present outcomes with certain children.  Looking forward to trying them.

I certainly learned a lot about the background/underlying principles (of person centred theory) which makes the practice easier to unpick


It would be useful to do a follow-up session in school, having put these ideas into practice for a while, to establish benefits, discuss problems we might have had, or just to help maintain momentum.

HEALTH
Active Listening Skills for Telephone Volunteers (2 hrs)
Client: NHS-UEA UEA-IFG Study, Norwich
February, May, October 2009

To be a successful mentor - listening is a vital skill. For a joint project between the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the UEA, individuals who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus have volunteered to support and encourage participants who are at risk of developing the condition and who have enrolled on a lifestyle intervention project. The primary outcome is the progression from IFG (impaired Fasting Glucose) to Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The volunteers will provide support and encouragement to the participants over the telephone and it is predicted that with the extra support of these volunteers the risk of progressing to T2DM will be reduced.

The skills of active listening are skills which we as human beings find very difficult as everybody loves to talk about themselves!  Andrea's 2 hour session covered extremely important topics such as personal frame of reference, reflection, paraphrasing, summarising and clarifying, beginning and ending a conversation and most importantly role play practice of these skills.

The evaluations of the session speak for themselves
"It was an excellent session - I learnt a lot"
"The subject matter was extremely relevant and covered in great detail and also thought provoking"
"Andrea was professional, pleasant and interesting"
"Role play is not my favourite in anticipation but today it was very specific to what we are going to do and was most helpful"

Due to the relevance and success of the session I will be inviting Andrea back for refresher sessions with the volunteers.

Nikki Murray, Type 2 Trainer Co-ordinator - Diabetes Prevention Facilitator


HELPING PROFESSIONS
Active Listening Skills Workshop: Can you hear the music behind the words?
Client: BizFizz, Norwich
13 July, 2009
10am-4pm


Engaging and inclusive.  Good mix of knowledge and application through participation.  Very relevant to all aspects of business and home life.
Steve Ferrey, Moco Corporate Development

I have really learnt a lot, especially about myself. 
C Rowley,
Sequah.com


Lots of exercises so no time to get bored.
Barry Dennis, Business Inspirer


Your style is professional, relaxed and evokes a safe trusting environment in which to work.  I loved the music!
Anne Francis, BizFizz Coach


Active Listening Skills 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
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.

Please see Counselling Skills/Theory courses where you can explore your use of active listening skills within a supportive group environment.

You?  Active Listening Skills Now?
if you would like me to tailor-make a programme for you or your organisation



FEEDBACK 2001-2008
2008
Active Listening Skills for Teaching Assistants

Client: Avenue Junior School, Avenue Road, Norwich

I am most certainly a much improved active listener, more sensitive to other people's needs and what a difference it has made to other parts of my life!
Alyson Rossi

2005
Making the most of the Relationship
: Active Listening Skills for Reflexologists
Client: Norfolk Group of Reflexologists (Association of Reflexologists)

Andrea led us through a lively and highly enjoyable workshop which involved everyone from the beginning. She taught 'active listening skills' in an interactive and non-threatening way and all of us came away from the session with real tools to use in our relationships with clients.
A follow-up session is long overdue!

Angela Sellens Drake MAR

2001
Listening Skills in Hospital: Active Listening Skills for NHS Practitioners
Client: NHS, Training Associates, Norwich

Andrea helped me to design and deliver Listening Skills workshops for 3 NHS Trust Hospitals in Norwich, King's Lynn and Bury St Edmunds. Feedback from all three workshops was excellent and Andrea's participation was noted for its energy and enthusiasm. She is creative in her ideas, relevant in her teaching and an expert facilitator. She finds ways to encourage self directed learning that can be both thought provoking and fun. She is professional in every aspect of her work and can be relied on completely.  I would highly recommend her.
Louise Young


You?  Active Listening Skills Now?
if you would like me to tailor-make a programme for you or your organisation