1 day

Workshop outline

This workshop teaches participants to understand the expectations of their clients and define good practice procedure when managing face-to-face communications and telephone calls. Participants will learn techniques for managing difficult situations, describing skills, tone, body language and word choices at each stage.

Learning method

This workshop is highly participative and uses facilitator input, plenary conversations, group exercises and discussions, reviews and action planning. Participants are expected to contribute real-life examples to aid learning.

Workshop content

Session 1: introduction and objectives

• Introductions and personal learning objectives

Session 2: what is customer focus?

• How do we recognise good customer care? What does it look and feel like?
• Why is customer care important to your organisation?
• Who are our customers and what are their expectations?
• What gets in the way of giving this service?
• How do you view your customers?
• Creating the right impression – how do you view yourself?

Session 3: communication skills

• The three Vs of communication
• Body language
• English as a second language
• Questioning and listening skills
• Appropriate greetings and language to encourage
• Delivering the message assertively
• The different methods of communicating with our customers – face-to-face and telephone

Session 4: managing the customer

• What difficult situations do you have to deal with?
• What might create these situations?
• Managing our own responses and inner dialogue
• Handling others’ emotions, anger and complaints
• Saying ‘no’ professionally

Session 5: working with our managers

• What can we do to improve communications with our managers?

Session 6: working with our colleagues

• How can we show support for our colleagues and what should we expect in return?
• Managing absence and its impact

Session 7: personal planning

• What are we going to do differently back in the workplace?
• How will others notice?