FUEL PRODUCTIVE AND MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT
Conversations are at the heart of everything we do and are essential to effective communications, leadership, high performing teams, and strong relationships. We know that conversations influence us, but we rarely stop to think about how much they affect our well-being, the well-being of others, or the health of our organizations and communities.
Communication remains the top issue for organizations, teams, and relationships. Most people struggle to effectively communicate when they are frustrated, angry, hurt, or facing conflict. The effects of poor communication are costly and show up in organizations as:
- Employee disengagement, malaise, and turnover;
- Dysfunctional teams;
- Poor performance;
- Inability to give and receive critical feedback;
- Negative attitudes, cliques, and gossip: a culture of “me”.
If you’re dealing with any of these outcomes, the Conversation Bootcamp will provide the skills and tools to turn them around.
BOOTCAMP OVERVIEW:
The Conversation Bootcamp is grounded in Appreciative Inquiry, one of the most widely used positive change approaches. Two simple Appreciative Inquiry practices – positive framing and generative questions – can turn your entire culture around, creating a culture of conversations worth having. Get the tools needed to help you establish communication practices that support productivity, engagement, high performance teams, regular feedback, positivity, and a culture of “we.”
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Following this bootcamp, participants will be prepared to:
- Keep your cool when you want to explode!
- Effectively challenge assumptions and preconceptions, including yours.
- Deal with conflict quickly and effectively.
- Fuel productive and meaningful engagement.
- Communicate successfully with people who hold negative attitudes or defensive positions.
- Give and receive critical feedback in ways that promote learning and high performance.
- Ask the kind of questions that deepen understanding, strengthen connections, and inspire possibility.
- Talk with colleagues in ways that invite them to collaborate on projects and strategic outcomes.
- Listen with genuine curiosity.
- Frame any conversation, even one around a highly complex problem, to inspire creative and innovative thinking and solutions.
BOOTCAMP MODULES:
The Conversation Bootcamp consists of four (4) modules. Click on any of the module titles below to display the purpose and learning objectives for each session.
PURPOSE: Understand the nature of our conversations, how they affect human being and doing, and develop your ability to choose.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Choose to be intentional with your conversations.
- Experience the nature of your conversations and the effects they have on you and others.
- Use mindfulness tools to shift reactionary communication to deliberate conversation.
PURPOSE: Understand the basics of Appreciative Inquiry and improve your ability to ask generative questions to foster effective communication.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Choose curiosity over knowing and assuming.
- Experience the impact Appreciative Inquiry has on individual and organizational capacity.
- Use generative questions to shift the dynamics of personal and workplace communication problems.
PURPOSE: Use positive framing to intentionally foster effective communication and continue to develop your ability to ask generative questions.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Use flipping to frame workplace communication issues.
- Experience flipping negative conversations to conversations worth having.
- Develop generative questions to fuel productive and meaningful engagement around workplace challenges.
PURPOSE: Develop the skill and the motivation to routinely seek out feedback and promptly provide effective feedback, even in the most critical of situations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Adopt a learning mindset to support openness and interest in feedback.
- Experience and choose to change feedback avoidance patterns.
- Use effective feedback strategies with common workplace situations.
ADDITIONAL BOOTCAMP INFORMATION:
SUGGESTED READING
The Conversations Worth Having (CWH) Bootcamps are built upon the book, Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement (2nd Edition) written by Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres.
This book demonstrates how Appreciative Inquiry (AI) – one of the most widely used approaches for fostering positive change for individuals, groups, organizations, and communities – can help everyone communicate better and flourish in all areas of their lives.
METHOD OF DELIVERY
To maximize flexibility, accessibility, and engagement, The Conversations Worth Having bootcamps can be delivered in various modalities. All participants will achieve the same learning outcomes no matter which learning option they choose.
IN-PERSON
One-day, on-site training covering the 4 Conversation Bootcamp modules, plus applied learning and practice.
VIRTUAL
Participate in two 2.5 hour LIVE webinars that cover the 4 Strategic Conversation Bootcamp modules with applied learning and practice.
HYBRID
Blends in-person and online learning to meet your needs & learning outcomes. Online learning can consist of virtual or on-demand.
ON-DEMAND
Enjoy the flexibility of completing the Strategic Conversation Bootcamp online at your own time and pace.
PROGRAM OFFERED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
WANT TO TRAIN YOUR TEAM?
Private training sessions are available for groups and organizations who wish to train a large number of individuals in Conversations Worth Having. CWH can be delivered in-person or virtually. Complete the CONTACT US form to receive more information about hosting a private CWH for your group.
QUESTIONS?
Do you have questions about this training? Please email your questions to Kelly Stewart at Kelly@CenterForAppreciativeInquiry.net.
