Personal Development

Anger can be an incredibly damaging force, costing people their jobs, personal relationships, and even their lives when it gets out of hand. However, since everyone experiences anger, it is important to have constructive approaches to manage it effectively.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand anger dynamics in terms of the anger cycle and the fight or flight theory.
• Know common anger myths and their factual refutations.
• Know the helpful and unhelpful ways of dealing with anger.
• Know techniques in controlling anger, particular reading anger warning signs, using coping thoughts, exercising relaxation techniques and blowing off steam.
• Understand the difference between objective and subjective language.
• Know tips in identifying the problem.
• Express a feeling or position using I-messages.
• Know skills and techniques in making a disagreement constructive, including effective negotiation and solution-building.
• Reflect on one’s hot buttons and personal anger dynamics.
• Know alter, avoid and, accept ways of responding to an anger-provoking situation.
• Understand the energy curve and how it can help in responding to someone else’s anger.
• Learn and practice de-escalation techniques.
• Gain an integrated view of anger management and how it can be best practiced.

A distracted workforce is less than effective. Employees who do not pay attention to their work can waste valuable time and make careless mistakes. Attention management is a useful skill that allows managers to connect with their employees on an emotional level and motivate them to focus on their work and how to reach their personal and company goals.

Four Areas of Attention:

• Intentional: When working intentionally, people plan strategically and prioritize their activities.
• Responsive: In this area people are responding to the world around them. They spend more time putting out fires than working intentionally.
• Interrupted:People spend too much time answering messages and handling situations that interrupt their work.
• Unproductive: This occurs when people waste time at work. Unless you are taking a scheduled break, checking Facebook and chatting is unproductive.

Critical Thinking will lead to being a more rational and disciplined thinker. It will reduce your prejudice and bias which will provide you a better understanding of your environment. This workshop will provide you the skills to evaluate, identify, and distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. It will lead you to be more productive in your career, and provide a great skill in your everyday life.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Understand the components of critical thinking
• Utilize non-linear thinking
• Use logical thinking
• Recognize what it means to be a critical thinker
• Evaluate information using critical thinking skills
• Identify the benefits of critical thinking
• Revise perspective, when necessary
• Comprehend problem solving abilities

Emotional Intelligence is defined as a set of competencies demonstrating the ability one has to recognize his or her behaviours, moods, and impulses, and to manage them best according to the situation. This course will give you the tools you need to be emotionally intelligent in your workplace. An employee with high emotional intelligence can manage his or her own impulses, communicate with others effectively, manage change well, solve problems, and use humour to build rapport in tense situations.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Define and practice self-management, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, and empathy.
• Understand, use and manage your emotions.
• Verbally communicate with others.
• Successfully communicate with others in a non-verbal manner.
• Identify the benefits of emotional intelligence.
• Relate emotional intelligence to the workplace.
• Balance optimism and pessimism.
• Effectively impact others.

Everyone has dreams and goals. Achieving personal and professional goals, however, requires planning and action. Learning how to manage time and set realistic goals will increase your chance of success in every area of your life. Following the advice in this course will help increase your productivity and help you achieve your dreams.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Overcome procrastination
• Manage time effectively
• Accomplish important tasks
• Self-motivate
• Create SMART goals

Searching for a job can be intimidating. How do you know what job you’re best suited for? How do you build a winning résumé and cover letter? Where can you find job leads? How do you network without feeling nervous? What happens when you land an interview? And most importantly, where do you find help when you need it? This course will give you the answers to all these questions, plus a plan to get you to a new job within a month.

This workshop is designed to help you in the following ways:

• Define your objectives and purpose in your search for employment.
• Help you establish SMART goals in the job-hunting process.
• Assist you in developing a first month plan of action for your job search.
• Craft an effective resume.
• Form an attractive cover letter.
• Develop and present a portfolio of your prior work.
• Learn networking skills in finding leads for jobs.
• Efficiently get interviews and thrive in the interview process.

Anxiety cannot be defined as one, isolated condition. It has many faces and can have hundreds of different symptoms. But before you can begin to understand and identify any type of anxiety, it is important to know the common symptoms and characteristics of different disorders. Only after you’ve identified the type of anxiety can you focus on the source and how to cope with it.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Explore different types of workplace anxieties
• Learn to recognize symptoms and warning signs
• Determine ways of coping and managing problems
• Recognize common trigger and accelerants
• Learn the difference between anxiety and common nervousness

Most people find that they wish they had more time in a day. This workshop will show participants how to organize their lives and find those hidden moments. Participants will learn how to establish routines, set goals, create an efficient environment, and use time-honoured planning and organizational tools to maximize their personal productivity.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Set and evaluate SMART goals
• Use routines to maximize their productivity
• Use scheduling tools to make the most of their time
• Stay on top of their to-do list
• Start new tasks and projects on the right foot
• Use basic project management techniques
• Organize their physical and virtual workspaces for maximum efficiency
• Take back time from e-mail and handheld devices
• Beat procrastination

Forget small spaces, darkness, and spiders – standing up in front of a crowd and talking is far more terrifying for most people. However, mastering this fear and getting comfortable speaking in public can be a great ego booster, not to mention a huge benefit to your career. This workshop will give you some valuable public speaking skills, including in-depth information on developing an engaging program and delivering your presentation with power.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify their audience
• Create a basic outline
• Organize their ideas
• Flesh out their presentation
• Find the right words
• Prepare all the details
• Overcome nervousness
• Deliver a polished, professional speech
• Handle questions and comments effectively

Social intelligence can seem like a complicated term and can make many of us feel nervous. But social intelligence is something we deal with every day and it can help us navigate better experiences from our social environment. Whether we’re at home or at work, knowing how to be more aware of ourselves and our surroundings can help us make the best out of any social situation!

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Be aware of our own behaviors
• Learn to be empathetic with others
• Know tools for active listening
• Effectively communicate interpersonally
• Recognize various social cues
• Determine appropriate conversation topics
• Know various forms of body language

We are continually placed in social learning situations. Whether we are continuing education, learning new skills at work, or participating in a club, learning often takes place in social settings. By fully understanding the process of social learning, it is possible to enhance both social and learning skills to reap the full benefits of any social learning situation.

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Define and use social learning.
• Identify social learning tools.
• Manipulate group dynamics and culture.
• Craft and lead role play scenarios.
• Practice being a role model.
• Understand modeling and observation.

Positive and negative stress is a constant influence on all of our lives. The trick is to maximize the positive stress and to minimize the negative stress. This workshop will give participants a three-option method for addressing any stressful situation, as well as a toolbox of personal skills, including using routines, relaxation techniques, and a stress log system.

At the end of this workshop, you should be able to:

• Identify the best approach to a stressful situation (Alter, Avoid, or Accept)
• Understand what lifestyle elements you can change to reduce stress
• Use routines to reduce stress
• Use environmental and physical relaxation techniques
• Better cope with major events
• Use a stress log to identify stressors and create a plan to reduce or eliminate them

Work Life Balance

Work- life balance is essential to combat stress, ensuring both individual and company success. The stress associated with unbalanced lifestyles is costly; it damages productivity and increases individual health risks. Employees who have the tools to balance their professional and personal lives are happier, healthier, and more productive. In addition to improving performance, many younger employees place a high value on work-life balance. Companies that include work-life balance as part of their culture will be able to better attract qualified candidates.

By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Explain the benefits of work life balance.
• Recognize the signs of an unbalanced life.
• Identify employer resources for a balanced lifestyle.
• Improve time management and goal setting.
• Use the most effective work methods for you.
• Create balance at work and at home.
• Manage stress.