High self-esteem is more predictive of a child’s happiness in life than education, IQ or economic privilege. Building self-esteem involves an entire constellation of parent’s behaviors and attitudes. Learn effective and child affirming praise techniques, as well as practical tips on setting consequences, accepting children’s feelings while keeping them accountable, and a healthy non- shaming communication style that you can confidently use to build trust with your foster child. Outstanding video illustration of skills, and a simulation of what it feels like to receive a steady diet of negative/positive messages, contribute to this program’s consistent high evaluations.
Tag Archives: Educators
Listening and Communication Skills for Families
This workshop gets high marks from foster parents because it makes reviewing skills essential family life skills fun! Through the use of a card game that practices non-verbal (sometimes hilarious) communication, and the solving of a “murder” which illustrates just how hard it is to really listen and understand, the basic research on components of communication are reviewed in a uniquely engaging manner. Parents find that the communication knowledge we possess and rely on may be common sense, but it’s not always common practice!!
Customer Service: the Service Difference
Customizable to emphasize relationships with internal or external customers or both, participants will walk away from this highly rated seminar knowing at least 4 things that research on customer service reveals about what our customers and clients want. Tips will be offered on how to get an A on your client’s “service report card” by offering not just core service but The Royal Treatment.
Participants will learn the importance of the “moments of truth” in which this single encounter defines our whole organization in the client’s mind. We’ll practice how to use the human business model for increased customer satisfaction and how to end the interaction with a Positive Close.
We’ll rehearse defusing skills that will help participants to lead the difficult person off a “rant” and on to business. These defusing skills help associates to deal with their own emotions and stay “unhooked” by the customer’s toxic energy, while assisting the upset client. Skills learned will include Reflective Listening, Empathy (I Felt/I Feel), Reframing, Service Recovery in handling mistakes, making an effective Apology, Escalated Concern, and Selective Agreement.
Video segments on the power of complaints (if time permits, usually in the 6 hour program) with brainstorming to improve an organization and its services can be facilitated. In all programs, including the shorter than 6 hour version, a step by step method for offering customers the “royal treatment” will generate discussion and model professional skills.
How to Facilitate a Meeting
This session will enable both new and experienced meeting facilitators to:
- Handle problem participants.
- Encourage everyone to contribute his or her ideas.
- Use an agenda effectively.
- Keep groups on task.
- Become aware of the importance of paying attention to underlying "currents" of feeling.
This session encourages us to have the courage to be in charge of a meeting without being controlling, and to never again facilitate a gathering "in which minutes are kept, but hours are wasted".
Managing Difficult Conversations
We all face situations that cause anxiety and frustration, no matter how we’ve worked to build our skills, and most of us attempt to avoid difficult conversations every week. Using the tested principles and practical strategies, participants will learn to manage strong emotions, figure out what unspoken “rules” keep us stuck, prepare in advance for the “grenades” lobbed in many difficult conversations, and attend to the meaning of what is said and not said. Excellent video practice vignettes help participants get a grip on their Communication Nightmares and participants will receive coaching on how to handle difficult conversations in professional life as well as at home.
Listening and Communication: Building Teams while Building Skills
This engaging seminar is highly interactive and uses games and structured experiences that allow participants to test their verbal and non-verbal skills, ability to listen, and favorite personal communication “roadblocks”. Because little time is spent lecturing, all the learners get the chance to become “the expert”, especially on their own personal gifts and pitfalls as communicators. If time permits, many audiences find a review of some research findings on differences in men and women’s communication styles enlightening.
Stress-Less Holidays
The holidays can be a joyful time, and they can also bring stress, complicated family relationships, and many extra household tasks. In this seminar, we will step back from all the excitement and look at our options, making a plan for holiday celebrations that feel do-able, and also addressing prevention for the post holiday blues. Participants will identify sources of holiday stress, and consider how to best manage their time, relatives, gift giving and finances.
You Can Manage Stress
This seminar offers you practical tools for building a more satisfying personal and professional life. No one can live a stress-free life, but when faithfully practiced, the skills gleaned from this seminar can result in increased health, fulfillment, and clarity of purpose.
At the end of the experience, participants will be able to:
- Identify their main stress symptoms and effective techniques for relieving them.
- Describe 5 "quick fix" stress buster methods.
- Demonstrate 3 minute energy builders.
- Fill the "energy bank".
- Experience the benefits of guided imagery and affirmations.
- Recognize the difference between tough times and real addiction to stress or work.
- Evaluate personal tendencies to react with positive or negative "self-talk".
- Set goals in a personal plan to reduce stress.
- Describe 5 proven long term stress reduction skills.
- Evaluate their risk for stress exhaustion.
- Continue their learning beyond the day with excellent print and audio and video resources that they have sampled in the workshop.
Time Management
Effective time management involves making an ongoing commitment to reviewing our actions and improving them day by day. This memorable program inspires people to turn time wasters into opportunities for increased productivity. In this program, you will learn how to create and prioritize a to-do list, effectively plan your day/week by setting goals and revising priorities, chart your energy cycle and apply it to your daily/weekly planning, learn how to overcome time wasters and how to effectively say “No,” and much more. We will also discuss how to strike a work/life balance.
A rich assortment of materials will be displayed to encourage participants to continue their learning beyond the session. An excellent video illustrates in a humorous way the key concept that we all have the same 24 hours to work with, and that we can learn to budget our time to maximum effect. If participants wish, time can also be spent on how to make meetings more productive and efficient.
The Real Science of Happiness: How To’s for Managing Attitude and Increasing Satisfaction
What do the folks at Zappos, Southwest Airlines, Cisco, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other employers of choice know that we don’t? They know the power of happiness! They cultivate a culture of respect, appreciation and trust, and the results speak for themselves.
Based on the work of respected researchers, you’ll learn and experience for yourself more than 5 practical methods for improving attitude and increasing happiness.
This session draws on the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky in “The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want” and the groundbreaking work of BelleRuth Naparstak, director of HealthJourneys.com. Full of humor, the real-world examples and skills are, without exaggeration, life-changing. These are do-able, practical steps that anyone–your team, your clients, your patients–can benefit from immediately!
Participant will explore…
- The psychology of happiness and how to train your brain
- Your current level of happiness is a choice
- What truly makes people happy and how to choose happiness
- 5 practical and scientifically proven methods for improving attitude and increasing happiness
- 12 Happiness Activities and which ones best fit you
- Skills for creating more happiness at work and home