Successfully influencing upwards to secure an outcome can be a challenging prospect, especially without the authority to command
Finding the best way to steer others’ actions, opinions and decisions requires tact, diplomacy and a comprehensive understanding of how to flex individual behaviour.
This workshop is designed to help participants develop an effective toolkit of strategies and techniques to negotiate upwards with confidence and to positively influence outcomes. It introduces and develops preferred communication styles, assertive and compliant behaviours, the importance of personal impact and the art of receiving and delivering clear messages
Through our influence skills training, participants investigate and build their personal communication skills and have the opportunity to trial potentially difficult conversations in a safe, consequence free environment. Working closely with Skills Coaches, they learn essential techniques to assess risk, think on their feet, and develop their body language to support their communication.
It will benefit anyone who needs to negotiate with people more senior in the workplace, but equally useful to those needing to persuade colleagues and peers towards a particular outcome.
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Style 
Learning time 
Method 
Coaching Over two days participants are introduced to a range of proven drama based techniques, interactive exercises and supporting theories to reinforce their learning.
Using an entertaining and engaging forum theatre ‘mini-play’, participants observe a conversation where someone is trying to influence a superior, or a peer and we start to examine the successful behaviours that can influence and identify those that do not.
Participants are encouraged to interact with the characters using hot-seating techniques and group discussion to explore, analyse, recognise and understand different motivations and barriers to influencing successfully. This is followed by pre-conversation preparation and thinking through strategies for application in a re-run of the scene which will involve small group work and a plenary forum theatre session.
Participants are introduced to supporting theory to help develop their personal practice sessions. Depending on the time allocated to the learning, participants will either work on predefined scenarios in smaller groups, or prepare individual scenarios to practise in realplay simulation exercises. The learning enables participants to embed their learning through doing, and receiving constructive developmental feedback or their individual impact and ability to influence.
Participants will have a sense of ownership of the techniques they have practised and be well placed to incorporate them into their daily roles. They will also develop a communication toolkit to engage and apply to internal and external conversations.
