Communication Is More Than Words

• Are you afraid to speak up because your idea may get shot down?
• Do people misunderstand what's being said?
• Are you struggling with conflict in your work?

Mastering the art of communication involves choosing words, understanding preferences, and learning to interpret body language, tone and gesture as well as listening actively and without bias or judgment. Fortunately these are all skills that can be learned and practiced.

In this workshop you will learn:

• Various forms of communication
• Methods of great communicators
• Identification of communication preferences to improve your chances of being heard
• Non-verbal cues to create rapport
• Techniques to use when listening becomes a challenge
• Strategies to stay present and listen actively
• Words to avoid, such as “always” and "never"
• Tools to engage in constructive conflict
• Ideas to communicate effectively to higher ups

As a result of this course you will have a broader understanding of how we communicate in various situations, an awareness of the challenges involved in communicating effectively, and several tools to improve conversations with customers and co-workers.

Course Description: Readings, discussions, activities, and assignments will provide learners with the tools, resources, and skills to practice better communication. Throughout the course you will also have the opportunity to reflect, share with other students, and communicate with the instructor one-on-one.

Additionally the course will include two highly interactive online sessions:

• Session #1: Monday November 18th 10-11am Pacific time
• Session #2: Monday December 2nd 10-11:15am Pacific time

Please make every effort to ensure that you are able to attend these two meetings before enrolling in the course. 

Course Outline: Using an Internet connection and web browser, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

• Week 1: What Is Communication and Why We Do It
  • What is communication
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Why we communicate
• Week 2: What Does It Take to Be a Great Communicator?
  • Self-awareness
  • Habits of great communicators
  • Communication with customers
  • Communicating accurately
• Week 3: Avoiding and Resolving Conflict
  • Things that complicate communication
  • Causes of conflict in communication
  • Handling conflict
  • Conflict with customers
  • Conflict with co-workers
  • Resolving conflict
• Week 4: Choosing Your Communication Path
  • Good written communication
  • Communication styles and preferences
  • Choosing appropriate modes of communication
  • Communicating with supervisors and managers

Time required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2½ hours per week, for a total of 10 course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for assignments, discussions and interviews. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Library staff in all types of libraries staff who would like to improve their communication skills with co-workers and customers whether in person, on the phone or in writing.

Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC): This course, in combination with Infopeople's All Work is Team Work course, is approved as covering the Communication and Teamwork competencies for the LSSC program. Both courses must be taken to meet the competency set.

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.

Do you work in a rural or tribal library? If so, you may be eligible for a course fee waiver for this course. This Infopeople course has up to five no-cost seats allocated for rural or tribal libraries. Fill out a fee waiver request, and if a no-cost seat is available you will be notified via email.