Effective communication and relationship building in business – assertiveness, influencing and business savoir vivre

Training process

Training needs analysis

If you have specific requirements regarding the training programme, we will carry out a training needs analysis for you. This will guide us on which aspects of the programme should receive greater emphasis, so that the training programme meets your specific needs.

What will you gain?

Stronger rapport - You will learn how to build rapport faster with clients, colleagues and business partners, making it easier to start conversations, earn trust and maintain productive professional relationships.

Assertive communication - You will express your needs, emotions and expectations clearly without creating unnecessary tension. You will practise I-statements, assertive requests and effective ways to say no at work.

Better handling of difficult situations - You will learn how to respond to criticism constructively, protect your boundaries and stay calm when the other party applies pressure or tries to take control of the conversation.

Protection against manipulation - You will learn to recognise influence tactics, spot inconsistencies in verbal and nonverbal messages, and assess the other person's intentions more accurately in business situations.

More effective feedback - You will give feedback in a clear, respectful and practical way. This will help you praise others, address mistakes and guide conversations so they strengthen relationships instead of harming them.

Confident online communication - You will improve how you communicate by email, phone, messengers and video calls. You will reduce misunderstandings and make your messages clearer, more professional and easier to act on.

Stronger professional image - You will learn how to build authority and a consistent business image on purpose. You will improve your self-presentation, refine your professional style and make a stronger first impression.

Stronger business network - You will discover practical ways to build networking relationships and use social media to maintain them. This will help you create more opportunities for cooperation and long-term business growth.

Training programme

1. Basic communication skills

building good rapport with others,
principles of creating a first impression,
setting an Anchor,
principles of defining a goal so that it is motivating (including the SMART model),
building sentences that have an impact on a good relationship with others,
who has the problem?

2. Assertive communication

communication expressing needs, emotions, expectations – I-message vs. You-message,
recognizing and building I-messages – exercises,
Self-Perception Questionnaire test – styles of communicating with others,
areas of my assertiveness – exercises/scenes:
- coping in a constructive/assertive way with criticism – ways of reacting,
- different versions of NO (firm and gentle NO) – scheme and techniques of assertive speech in a relationship with the client,
- defending the boundaries of your territory – when the client wants to „walk all over you”,
- assertive request,
- assertive expression of requests, speaking in public,
feedback – how to convey our opinions to others (assertive complimenting, criticizing) – exercises and scenes.

3. Communication in the process of exerting influence

4. Coping with the partner's use of influence techniques

unmasking the technique, assertiveness,
recognizing signs of lying, detecting inconsistencies at the verbal and non-verbal level,
protection against manipulation,
speaking the language of benefits and solutions, seeking win-win solutions, anticipating future problems,
decision-making style, negotiate with decision-makers (how to deal with situations of negotiating with non-decision-makers),
the role of emotions in negotiations.

5. Image

how to build an image?
building authority,
image and hierarchy,
dress code for women and men, color psychology,
mistakes in creating style,
self-presentation.

6. Business savoir vivre

intercultural differences in business savoir vivre,
business cards – how, who, where, to whom?
telephone conversation,
rules of written and electronic correspondence,
diplomatic protocol in business,
precedence in business.

7. Building networking relationships

The importance of building a network of contacts in business.
Strategies for establishing and maintaining networking relationships.
Using social media to develop a network of business contacts.

8. Virtual communication:

Specificity of online communication in business.
Effective use of virtual communication tools, such as email, instant messengers, or videoconferences.
Preventing misunderstandings and conflicts in virtual communication.

9. Development of listening skills:

The impact of active listening on the effectiveness of communication.
Techniques for improving listening skills, such as repeating, summarizing, and asking open-ended questions.

10. Conflict management:

Recognizing different types of conflicts in business.
Conflict resolution strategies and building agreement.
The ability to communicate in difficult situations and during conflicts.

What are the prerequisites for participating in the training?

Basic professional experience - You should have your own experience of dealing with clients, co-workers or business partners so you can relate the exercises and role plays to real workplace situations.

Readiness for workshop work - You should be ready to take part in exercises, role plays and discussions of your own communication cases, because the training is based on active skills practice.

Basics of business communication - You should understand the basics of workplace communication, such as handling simple business conversations, writing messages and maintaining a professional tone.

Openness to feedback - You should be willing to receive and give feedback, because during the training you will analyse your communication style and practise new ways of responding.