Your Course - Your Way
Click a theme below to discover what topics a Real Spark Training course can cover. Each course can be modified or expanded to suit your organisation's training requirements and the needs of the participants you have in mind.
Dealing with Difficult People
Turning arguments into conversations
Overview of training:
Dealing with stressed, angry or upset people is a regular challenge in many work roles. Strong emotions in others can trigger our own ‘fight or flight’ response, making us less able to stay calm and manage the situation professionally. This course is for people who want to increase their skill and confidence when dealing with ‘difficult’ people, whether in the context of customer service, management or teamwork. Participants will learn how to:
- Keep their emotional balance under pressure
- Calm people down and build trust
- Get to the heart of the problem in order to solve it
Topics covered:
- Fight or Flight - why conflict is inevitable among humans
- Emotional Intelligence - the role of social emotions in conflict
- Hot buttons - recognising and regulating your conflict triggers
- Constructive empathy - how to get angry people to listen
- Understanding interests - what do people need in order to feel OK?
- The dance of negotiation - avoiding ‘battle’ metaphors
- Positive spin - how assuming good intentions helps to solve problems
- Body language tips - the importance of non-verbal communication
- The soft landing - helping people to back down with dignity
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Governance versus Management
Managing conflict hazards in not-for-profit organisations
Overview of training:
The success of any organisation depends on effective communication between people in different departments, teams and roles. In not-for-profit organisations the relationship between Governors (trustees, board members etc) and Managers (the CEO, other operational staff) is crucially important. This workshop is designed to help those on either side of the Governance/Management divide to:
- Understand the complementary roles of Governors and Managers
- Recognise what each needs from the other to perform effectively
- Develop strategies to improve cooperation and resolve conflict
Topics covered:
- Who does what? - Governance vs Management responsibilities in your organisation
- Is this a Governance issue? - some useful questions to ask yourself
- Getting agreement - making sure everyone agrees on role boundaries
- What happens when Governors try to micromanage?
- What happens when Managers try to govern?
- Role confusion - multitasking issues in small organisations
- What do Governors and Managers need from each other?
- A hazard management approach to conflict resolution
- The toolbox - communication skills for bridging the gap
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Managing Diversity
Communication in a multi-cultural workplace
Overview of training:
This course acknowledges both the benefits and the challenges presented by our increasingly diverse workforce. It aims to give participants more tools for removing barriers to understanding and enhancing communication between individuals with different national or cultural backgrounds. Participants can expect a skills-based workshop constructed around a number of practical, interactive exercises which focus on real situations. They will learn to:
- Recognise barriers to communication and understanding
- Use universal communication strategies to increase understanding
- Minimise and resolve conflict caused by misunderstandings and cultural friction
Topics covered:
- Barriers to cross-cultural communication and their consequences
- The toolbox - strategies for improving cross-cultural communication
- Avoiding language confusion - getting the important stuff communicated
- Diverse communication styles - tuning in to the message
- Good questioning strategies - how to check that someone really understands
- Paying full attention - seeing beyond stereotypes
- Increasing team rapport through cross cultural understanding
- New migrant employees - communicating ‘how we do things’
- Exploiting diverse work backgrounds to solve problems
- Managing conflict - calming people down and promoting dialogue
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Time Management
Taking control of your day
Overview of training:
This is a practical session designed to help people develop the skills and attitudes of good time management. It is essential for those who want to feel more in control of their time. Participants will:
- Gain the confidence to plan and tackle their workload with enthusiasm
- Recognise and manage barriers to good time management
- Learn a number of reliable techniques, tools and strategies
Topics covered:
- Releasing hidden time - the fundamentals of time management
- Being busy versus being productive
- ‘Discretionary time’ versus ‘response time’
- Multitasking madness - organise things to reduce simultaneous tasking
- Time bandits - deal with time-wasting habits, processes and people
- The joy of lists - take a load off your brain
- Taking stock - doing a personal time audit
- Setting priorities - your secret weapon for tackling tasks
- What am I here for? - focus on your core responsibilities
- Surf your own wave - take advantage of your energy cycle
- Procrastination - how not to do it
- Using technology to save time (not waste it)
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Training for Trainers
A toolkit for effective training and coaching
Overview of training:
This course is aimed at anyone who trains or coaches others as part of their job role. It covers the key concepts and skills of delivering training to adults. The course provides an opportunity to explore the needs of adult trainees, and discuss how these can be addressed within a training session to facilitate learning and increase retention. It also covers the fundamentals of session planning and looks at reliable methods for evaluating the impact of the training. Attendees will learn to:
- Address the learning requirements of adult trainees
- Understand the importance of course structure and flow
- Maintain a positive and stimulating learning environment
- Assess the effectiveness of their training or coaching
Topics covered:
- Motivating adult learners - learning styles and multi-sensory training
- The training cycle - working with the human attention span
- Props, games and attention-grabbers - keeping people interested
- Using body language and ‘training space’
- Preparing and managing the training environment
- Effective use of media - whiteboards, projectors & AV equipment
- Using workbooks or handouts to reinforce learning
- Did it work? - course evaluation strategies
- Looking after yourself - staying calm and confident
- Tips for new trainers - and traps to avoid
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Assertiveness Skills
The Art of Calm Determination
Overview of training:
Assertive communication can help to reduce stress, increase self-esteem and improve interpersonal communication. This highly practical course introduces the basic concepts of assertiveness and gives participants the opportunity to learn, practice and assess the effectiveness of several widely taught assertiveness techniques. Those attending will learn to:
- Confidently and respectfully express themselves in a variety of situations
- Pro-actively negotiate the terms of their work and social relationships
- Set boundaries and say ’no’ where appropriate
- Protect their personal rights without undermining the rights of others
Topics covered:
- Defining assertiveness - what it is and what it isn’t
- Your perfect right - how to feel assertive
- Recognising passive behaviour and its consequences
- Recognising aggressive behaviour and its consequences
- The benefits of assertive communication
- Non-verbal assertiveness - body language and voice tone
- The power of ‘I’ statements - avoiding defensiveness
- Sticking to your story - using the ’stuck record’ technique
- The ‘fogging’ technique - disarming people by agreeing with them
- Going direct - how brevity and clarity help to get you heard
- A positive ’no’ - how to refuse a demand constructively
- Verbal self-defence - dealing with bullying or harassment
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Negotiation Skills
Reaching mutually satisfying agreements
Overview of training:
Negotiation is not just a technique for selling products or solving pay disputes. Whenever two or more people with different needs or goals are brought together, a potential opportunity for negotiation arises. The main focus of this course is ‘principled’ negotiation and collaborative problem-solving for everyday situations. Participants will learn:
- How to recognise opportunities for negotiation
- The stages of the negotiation process
- Strategies for achieving win/win outcomes
Topics covered:
- What is negotiation? - recognising the process
- Why hard bargaining often doesn’t work
- What is win/win? - zero-sum vs positive-sum
- Understanding principled negotiation - a discussion about interests
- ‘Scouting’ the situation and preparing to negotiate
- The role of non-verbal communication in negotiation
- Keeping your eye on the prize - avoiding distractions and red herrings
- The creative bit - generating options for mutual gain
- Your reserve parachute - the importance of having a ‘Plan B’
- Making use of disagreement to reach agreement
- Some common ‘dirty tricks’ and how to deal with them
- Testing win/win - evaluating progress and closing the deal
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Stress Balancing
Finding the stress/success balance
Overview of training:
Stress is our bodies’ natural response to perceived threats and challenges. It has clear physical symptoms and its emotional effects can be both positive and negative. Stress can be a great motivator, compelling us to take action. It can also, however, lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and exhaustion. Negative stress can also lead to ill-health if it continues for long periods. This course explores ways of getting your stress levels back in balance and keeping them there. Participants will learn:
- How to recognise stress symptoms in themselves and others
- The difference between ‘healthy’ stress and ‘unhealthy’ stress
- Strategies for managing, and balancing, stress
Topics covered:
- The stress response - how our bodies respond to threats and challenges
- Feeling stressed - our emotional reactions to stress
- Eliminate/minimise/isolate - stressors as workplace hazards
- Stress triggers - recognising your personal stressors
- Hot buttons - stress and emotional intelligence
- Tools and techniques - reliable stress management tactics
- Becoming more resilient - the influence of lifestyle
- Supportive teams - recognising stress in others
- Developing a stress management plan in your workplace
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Career Planning
Taking the next step
Overview of training:
This highly interactive course is for individuals planning the next stage of their career, either within their current organisation or beyond. The course offers participants practical tools and ideas to help them assess their current skills and abilities and open up new opportunities for development and advancement. Participants will be invited to:
- Analyse their current situation, strengths and weaknesses
- Set short, long and medium-term goals
- Plan the next steps towards advancing their career and life goals
Topics covered:
- Taking stock - honestly assessing your current skills, strengths and qualifications
- Where are you going? - reflecting on what you want from your career
- Getting out there - tips and tricks for successful networking
- Finding opportunities - how to focus your job search to save time and effort
- Constructing a Kiwi CV / resume - ‘best practice’ recommendations
- Preparing for your interview - getting ‘match ready’ for interview day
- Interview performance - projecting confidence and competence
- Maximising your chances - tipping the balance in your favour
- Taking action - planning your next steps
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will
Presentation Skills
Communicating confidently to groups
Overview of training:
This course is for people who need to deliver compelling presentations to large or small groups, whether at work, in public or in social situations. Participants will learn how to:
- Feel and appear confident in front of a group
- Structure their presentation to maintain interest
- Develop an effective presentation style
Topics covered:
- Before you stand up - essential preparation steps
- Handling nerves - the secrets of confident presenters
- Who’s out there? - analysing audience needs
- What am I doing here? - the importance of clear objectives
- Timing is (almost) everything - presentation structure and pace
- Making an impression - how to open and close memorably
- Visual aids - how technology can help or hinder
- It’s not just what you say - using your voice as a presentation tool
- Humour, anecdotes, metaphors and other useful devices
- Visual impact - posture, choreography and personal appearance
- Being on the spot - handling questions and criticism
To arrange a workshop or presentation on this theme for your organisation, Contact Will