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Corporate
Coach Group

Express Your Ideas Clearly, Confidently and Persuasively

Communication Skills Training 1 day

Would you like to be more confident in your communication skills? Clear and confident communication is crucial for improving your team's overall performance. Our accredited course will show you how to become more coherent, confident, and persuasive in your communication style.

Available as an open course at venues across the UK, as live online training via Microsoft Teams, or as bespoke in-house training tailored to your organisation.

★★★★★ "The course opened my eyes to how much my choice of words affects the people around me. Immediately practical."
Quality Training
4.9/5 from 15 Reviews
Established 1997
6 CPD Hours
Delivery Options Upcoming Dates

Course Overview

What is Communication Skills Training?

The course opens with a self-assessment of your current communication style and an exploration of the three core characteristics of effective communication: clarity, rationality and positivity. The morning session focuses on how you express yourself, covering precise language, the eight-part SMART goal-setting formula, affirmative framing, active listening, and the correct use of humour. You will leave the morning session with a practical toolkit for making yourself clearly understood in any situation.

The afternoon session shifts focus to handling difficult people and negative situations. You will learn how to time a difficult conversation correctly, manage your own emotions, use objective language to de-escalate tension, and respond with the right level of assertiveness. Practical exercises allow you to rehearse real-life conflict scenarios in a safe environment. The day closes by examining the role of praise and appreciation as a communication tool, ensuring you always end every exchange on a constructive, positive note.

By the end of this training you will be better equipped to handle difficult people and challenging situations while maintaining a positive attitude. Our goal is to help you become a clearer, more confident and more effective communicator.

Core Skills

The Key Skills Covered

This course is built around six evidence-based communication skill sets. Developing each of these will help you express yourself with greater clarity and impact, and handle even the most difficult conversations professionally.

  1. 1

    Clear and Precise Communication

    Learn to use specific language, exact numbers and well-defined terms to eliminate ambiguity. When every word carries only one possible meaning, misunderstandings disappear and your instructions are followed correctly first time.

  2. 2

    Positive and Affirmative Language

    Understand how framing your message in the affirmative directs people's attention towards desired outcomes rather than what to avoid. You will practise replacing negative statements with positive alternatives and observe the difference it makes to how people respond.

  3. 3

    Active Listening and Questioning

    Listening is the art of gaining an exact understanding of another person's meaning. You will learn how to ask clarifying questions, paraphrase effectively and demonstrate genuine attention, so that others feel understood and communication flows in both directions.

  4. 4

    Rational Conflict Management

    Conflict is inevitable; how you respond to it defines your effectiveness. You will learn to manage timing and emotion, use factual objective language instead of charged personal language, and guide conversations towards practical solutions rather than continued disagreement.

  5. 5

    Assertiveness and Non-Verbal Communication

    Master the balance between passive, assertive and aggressive communication styles. You will also develop your awareness of body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and the pitch, pace and volume of your voice, so that your non-verbal signals reinforce your words.

  6. 6

    Constructive Feedback and Appreciation

    Understand the difference between a critic and a cynic, and learn how to give only constructive criticism. You will also explore the motivating power of genuine, specific praise so that you consistently close every communication on a positive, forward-looking note.

Who Is This Course For?

Who Should Attend This Communication Skills Training Course?

Designed for anyone who needs to express ideas clearly, handle difficult conversations professionally or build stronger working relationships through better communication.

Managers and Team Leaders

Communicate goals, feedback and decisions with clarity and confidence to get the best from your team.

Customer-Facing Professionals

Build rapport, handle objections and communicate value clearly to clients and stakeholders.

Anyone Handling Difficult Situations

Learn to de-escalate tension and navigate conflict with assertiveness, objectivity and professionalism.

All Staff

Anyone who wants to express their ideas with greater clarity, confidence and persuasiveness at work.

Also highly beneficial for HR professionals managing sensitive conversations, trainers and coaches who need to communicate complex ideas accessibly, and technical specialists who need to present their work to non-technical audiences.

Course Agenda

Communication Skills Training Course Details

AM

Morning Session • Developing your communication style and clarity

Begin with a self-assessment of your current communication style, then build a comprehensive toolkit for expressing yourself with greater clarity, positivity and precision. You will explore everything from goal-setting language to affirmative framing, active listening and the correct use of humour.

Communication skills training is the structured practice of learning how to express your ideas in a clear, convincing and inspiring manner. It equally addresses your ability to understand others fully and to resolve any conflicts or misunderstandings that arise between you. In short, it is about making yourself clearly understood and fully understanding others.
All effective communicators share three qualities: they are clear, convincing and positive. Without these qualities, even a good idea can fail to land because the message is misunderstood, unconvincing or delivered in a way that creates resistance. The purpose of this training is to give you the specific skills to communicate with all three of these qualities, consistently and deliberately.
We are defined by our goals and judged by our ability to achieve them. To achieve goals, you first need to communicate them clearly to the people responsible for delivering them. You will learn how to express goals in unambiguous, specific terms covering targets, values, standards, expectations and feelings, leaving no room for different interpretations.
Numbers are the single most powerful tool for improving the clarity of your communication. They replace vague, subjective language with exact times, quantities and measurable standards that everyone in the room understands in the same way. We will show you how to introduce numerical precision into everyday instructions, feedback and goal-setting conversations.
The eight-part SMART formula is a structured set of eight questions you must answer to ensure that any goal or plan is fully communicated and clearly understood by everyone involved. Going well beyond the standard five-element model, it addresses specificity, measurability, achievability, relevance, time-bound deadlines, written commitment, positive framing and personal ownership. You will practise applying it to real goals you are currently working towards.
Humour is a powerful communication tool when used constructively and a damaging one when used sarcastically or at someone else's expense. We will help you distinguish between the correct and incorrect use of humour, and show you how well-placed, friendly humour builds rapport, reduces tension and makes your audience more receptive to your message.
Many people know what they mean but struggle to put it into words. You will learn how to translate your thoughts and feelings into precise language that others can act on. You will also learn how to help other people express their meaning more clearly by asking the right prompting questions, using real-life examples to practise both skills.
Active listening is the art of gaining an exact understanding of another person's message. It involves more than staying quiet; it requires focused attention, clarifying questions and paraphrasing to confirm understanding. We will show you how to develop this skill so that you genuinely understand what is being communicated, and so that the other person feels heard.
Valid criticism identifies a specific problem and points towards a solution; cynicism is a generalised negative attitude that offers nothing constructive. We all benefit from hearing genuine critical feedback but nobody benefits from cynicism. You will learn to tell the difference, how to respond to each appropriately, and how to give only constructive criticism yourself.
Negative statements often act as an unintended embedded command, directing attention towards the very idea you want the other person to avoid. Telling someone not to panic implies panic; telling someone not to be late focuses the mind on lateness. We will show you how to reframe your instructions in the affirmative so they direct people clearly towards the behaviour you want, and you will practise this skill with realistic workplace examples.
PM

Afternoon Session • Handling conflict, assertiveness and positive closure

Move from everyday communication into the more demanding territory of difficult conversations, conflict and assertiveness. You will develop practical tools for managing your own emotions, choosing your words carefully under pressure, negotiating solutions and always closing on a positive note.

Some people are genuinely difficult to deal with and conflict situations are therefore inevitable in any workplace. The key is to ensure that when tension arises, your communication remains clear, assertive and controlled rather than reactive and emotional. We will give you a framework for approaching difficult conversations that keeps them productive and proportionate.
You could say entirely the right things but at the wrong time and in the wrong place, and the conversation will still go badly. Choosing the right moment to raise a difficult issue is a skill in itself, and one that is often overlooked. We will help you identify the conditions that make a difficult conversation more likely to succeed and how to create those conditions deliberately.
Conflict tends to trigger negative emotions such as anger, frustration and upset. Too much emotional heat makes a bad situation worse and reduces your ability to think and communicate clearly. We will show you practical techniques for managing your own emotional state before and during a difficult conversation, so that you respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.
Objective language describes observable facts, specific behaviours and measurable outcomes; subjective language uses labels, judgements and generalisations that inflame rather than resolve conflict. When you describe a problem in objective terms, the other person finds it far harder to dismiss or deny, and the conversation naturally moves towards solutions. We will practise shifting from subjective to objective framing in realistic conflict scenarios.
Assertiveness sits between passivity and aggression. If you are too passive, people will ignore you or fail to take the issue seriously. If you are too aggressive, they will become defensive and the situation escalates. We will help you calibrate the right level of assertiveness for different people and situations, giving you the confidence to state your position clearly and firmly without damaging the relationship.
In a heightened conflict situation, a single poorly chosen word can cause the other person to disengage or escalate. Word choice matters enormously and skilled communicators think carefully about the specific language they use. We will show you how to select words that acknowledge the other person's perspective while keeping the conversation calm, focused and moving forward.
The most productive conflicts focus on the future rather than relitigating the past. The past cannot be changed; the future can. We will show you how to redirect a conversation that is stuck in blame or grievance towards an agreement about what will happen next, which is ultimately the only thing that matters in resolving a dispute productively.
Improvised responses to difficult conversations are rarely your best responses. Whenever you have advance notice of a difficult exchange, preparing your key messages in advance is a significant advantage. This includes deciding not only what you will say but what you will deliberately refrain from saying. We will cover the art of self-editing as a core communication discipline.
Simply raising a problem without proposing a solution puts the full burden of resolution on the other person and often leads to a stalemate. Coming to a difficult conversation with a concrete, practical proposal that is reasonable under the circumstances dramatically increases the likelihood of reaching an agreement. We will show you how to frame proposals that are compelling without being confrontational.
When someone rejects your proposal, you need to evaluate whether their objection is a genuine reason that deserves a practical response or an excuse that is being used to avoid taking responsibility. Treating an excuse as a reason rewards avoidance; treating a genuine reason as an excuse damages trust. We will give you a clear framework for making that distinction and responding appropriately to each.
Compromise is sometimes the right answer and sometimes the worst possible one. Compromising on matters of principle, safety or quality, for example, creates longer-term problems. Refusing to compromise on preferences or minor details is needlessly confrontational. We will discuss the principles for deciding when flexibility is appropriate and when holding your position firmly is the right course of action.
Non-verbal communication often carries more weight than the words themselves, particularly in emotionally charged situations. You need to develop awareness and control of your posture, gestures, eye contact and facial expressions, as well as the pitch, pace and volume of your voice. We will show you how to ensure your body language and voice tone reinforce your words rather than contradict them.
The absence of recognition and appreciation is itself a frequent cause of conflict, resentment and disengagement. Ending every significant communication on a genuinely positive note, and making a habit of giving specific and timely praise, has a measurable effect on team morale and individual motivation. We will discuss how to make praise and positive reinforcement a consistent practice that strengthens relationships and sustains high performance.

Availability and Pricing

Delivery Options

Choose the delivery format that best fits your schedule and team.

All options deliver the same high-quality content.

Online Live Training

£350 +VAT

per delegate

Interactive live sessions delivered via Teams using our superiour green-screen technology.

  • Same content as face-to-face
  • Learn from home or office
  • Delivered via MS Teams
  • Laptop or tablet with webcam
View Online Dates
Most Popular

Open Course

£475 +VAT

per delegate

Early bird offers available

Join scheduled courses at venues across the UK including London, Birmingham, Manchester & more.

  • Venues across the UK
  • 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
  • Tea and coffee from 8:45 am
  • Network with peers
Book Open Course

Bespoke In-House

£2250 +VAT

per training day

We come to you. Training delivered at your premises, tailored to your team's specific needs.

  • Your premises or online
  • Tailored to your organisation
  • Dates to suit your schedule
  • We can train in your timezone
Proposal PDF Request Callback

All Our Training Includes

Full 1 day of expert training delivered by an experienced trainer
CPD-endorsed course: 6 CPD training hours (plus 2-3 additional hours via post-course online learning)
Full digital interactive course notes
Official training certificate
Access to free additional training material via our post-course portal
3 months of free telephone coaching while you implement your learning

Questions? Call 020 3856 3037 or 01452 856091

Upcoming Dates

Next Available Course Dates

View All Course Dates

No upcoming dates are currently listed. Please get in touch to enquire about availability.

Contact Us

Frequently Asked Questions

Course FAQs

You can book directly online via our course dates page, call us on 020 3856 3037, or make an enquiry and we will call you back. We accept payment by BACS, cheque or credit card. Once booked, you will receive a confirmation email with full joining instructions.
Yes. We can deliver this course exclusively for your team at your premises or online, on dates to suit you. Bespoke in-house training is priced per day rather than per delegate, making it cost-effective for groups of four or more. We can also tailor the content to address your organisation's specific challenges.
Effective verbal communication rests on several key practices: using specific rather than vague language; giving genuine reasons for your message so others understand your intention; framing instructions in the affirmative; listening actively to confirm understanding; and managing your tone and body language so your delivery matches your words. We have written an extensive article covering what we consider the nine most important ways to improve your verbal communication skills.
All communication is governed by thought; before you say anything, you should decide what you are trying to achieve and choose your approach accordingly. As a communicator, you have many tools at your disposal: the words you choose, your voice tone, your body language, your questions, your listening skills and, above all, your attitude. To be an effective communicator you need to develop awareness and skill in each of these dimensions. We cover all of them on this course. You can read more about this in our blog post: think before you speak.
Yes, the training is highly interactive. Sessions include group discussions, exercises, case studies and individual action planning. The trainer actively teaches expert content rather than simply facilitating discussion, so delegates leave with structured knowledge they can apply immediately. The style is engaging and practical throughout.
At work, focus your development on the following six communication skills:
  1. Clearly communicate goals, targets and standards to your team.
  2. Clearly communicate your ideas, suggestions and recommendations.
  3. Communicate your plans, priorities and delegated tasks with precision.
  4. In conflict situations, communicate calmly with angry or upset people.
  5. Communicate a positive attitude towards yourself, others and the work.
  6. Communicate in a way that inspires positive emotions in those around you.
This course gives you the specific techniques to develop all six of these skills in a single day.
Delegates come from a wide variety of roles and industries; what they share is a desire to express themselves more clearly and handle people more effectively. Many come from organisations going through significant change, where clear communication has become critical. Others attend because they have identified a specific gap, such as struggling with difficult conversations or lacking confidence when presenting. All delegates leave with practical skills they can apply immediately.
Open courses run from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Delegates are welcome to arrive from 8:45 am; tea and coffee are available from that time. The course includes mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks plus a lunch break.

Have a question that is not answered here?

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On This Page

  1. 1 Course Overview
  2. 2 Key Skills
  3. 3 Who Should Attend
  4. 4 Course Agenda
  5. 5 Delivery Options
  6. 6 Upcoming Dates
  7. 7 FAQs

Book This Course

Online Live Training £350 +VAT
Open Course £475 +VAT
Bespoke In-House £2250 +VAT/day
Book Open Course Enquire About In-House

Questions? Call us on

020 3856 3037

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Customer Reviews

What Delegates Say About This Course

4.9 / 5

Based on 15 verified delegate reviews

★★★★★

"I found the course interesting and very interactive, Even though I had done this course previously the Right Box/Wrong Box really stood out today in the course, which I will definitely be using in the future. Excellent presentation by the trainer.100/100 "

Adam Jones

Jakemans Confectioners Ltd.

★★★★★

"Very informative course. Very in depth material which I will use in the future, particularly the parts regarding “Right Box, wrong Box” Excellent presentation, very professional and knowledgeable. 100/100 "

James Kay

Jakemans Confectioners Ltd.

★★★★★

"Course content: Understanding the tools to use in different situations which we face at work and ensuring we apply these tools in a correct way. The trainer’s presentation was Very precise, clear and exact to the point presentation. Kept everyone engaged throughout the course. 98/100"

Sookreeta Seetohul

Jakemans Confectioners Ltd.

Read More Customer Reviews

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  • How to Develop Self-Confidence

    Learn how to build self confidence by reshaping your self image. Apply the RAPID method-five clear steps-to swap doubt for daily certainty and stronger results.

Ready to Communicate with Greater Impact?

Enrol on our next open course, book a live online training session, or speak to us about tailored in-house delivery for your team.

Book Open Course Enquire about In-House

Or speak to a member of our team directly:

020 3856 3037 01452 856091