Seminars

Language By Design offers on-site seminars in communication skills. The course descriptions below are typical of the seminars we provide. Our programs are custom-designed, so course length and objectives vary. Please contact us to discuss how we can create a program to meet your needs.

Active Listening
Oral Communication
Presentation Skills
Writing
English Language Development

 

Listening For Results

Goal: To help participants dramatically increase their ability to tune into others in order to communicate effectively, clarify expectations, resolve conflicts, and influence outcomes.

Objectives:

  • Assess strengths & weaknesses in active listening

  • Reduce distractions that impede good listening

  • Give & receive feedback constructively

  • Interpret nonverbal cues to emotion

  • Tailor listening strategies to the situation

  • Curb barriers to relating

  • Verify & clarify for better understanding

  • Validate a speaker’s concerns & show empathy

  • Improve problem solving by managing conflict

  • Increase self awareness & sensitivity to others

  • Improve relationships by focusing on mutual needs

Methodology: This interactive workshop takes a very active approach to helping participants relate better to others. Self assessment surveys, journal topics, peer practice, and public observation allow participants to reflect on their own interpersonal awareness while learning from others.

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Dynamic Presentations

Goal: To allow those who have mastered basic presentation skills to further their effectiveness through intense practice and feedback focused on developing a more powerful personal style.

Objectives:

  • Organize a presentation with a strong focus

  • Overcome nerves through practice and feedback

  • Increase expressiveness with gesture and body language

  • Adjust content and style to audience

  • Use strong language for impact

  • Create coherent, persuasive presentations

  • Develop a more forceful, dynamic personal style

  • Incorporate humor and interest into presentations

  • Interact with listeners, handle questions and interruptions

Methodology: This course takes a learn-by-doing approach to improving skills. Participants can expect to deliver both impromptu and planned presentations and to receive feedback from the instructor and fellow participants.

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Public Speaking for Managers

Goal: To assist managers and managers-to-be in polishing their presentation and facilitation skills as they refine their leadership communication style.

Objectives:

  • Take inventory of current skills/challenges: preparation, delivery, interaction

  • Communicate as a manager: train, motivate, influence, pitch

  • Know your personal presentation style

  • Integrate public speaking goals with your personal leadership style

  • Adjust to differing audiences: staff, peers, upper management

  • Handle high anxiety situations such as pointed questions

  • Facilitate cross cultural groups, encouraging active participation

  • Leverage technology with virtual teams

  • Manage audience conflict

  • Control agenda by handling interruptions

Methodology: In this course, participants become team members, giving constructive feedback to each other as each one delivers mock presentations that simulate the challenges they face on the job.

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Professionally Speaking

Goal: To help technically proficient high-tech professionals communicate complex ideas in a clear, concise, and confident manner to a variety of audiences.

Objectives:

  • Organize thoughts logically

  • Convey messages clearly

  • Summarize ideas concisely

  • Understand American business speech patterns

  • Speak freely & extemporaneously

  • Develop confidence addressing a crowd

  • Adjust speech to audience /social styles

  • Deal with customers in stressful situations

  • Make polite requests /avoid being too abrupt

  • Speak informatively and persuasively

Methodology: Lecture topics combined with discussion prepare participants to practice new skills in pairs and triads.

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Writing for High-Tech Professionals

Goal: To help professionals efficiently create business and technical documents that are clear, organized, professional, and appropriate to the purpose and audience.

Objectives:

  • Develop a streamlined writing process

  • Write in a clear, organized style

  • Be concise & specific

  • Vary sentence length

  • Include flow, linking, cohesion

  • Establish a professional tone

  • Increase audience awareness /avoiding assumptions

  • Know when a conversation is better than e-mail

  • Proofread & edit for grammar errors

Methodology: A wide variety of exercises and activities add to participants’ repertoire of writing skills. Both right- and left-brained techniques are included to encourage them to view writing as a natural, step by-step process.

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Grammar Toolkit

Goal: To reduce mistakes in grammar and mechanics, especially in business writing. To increase awareness of one’s own personal trouble areas and learn how to proofread for them.

Topics:

Grammar:

  • Verb tense and form

  • Subject-verb agreement

  • Articles

  • Prepositions

  • Word form

  • Noun form /plurals

Sentence structure:

  • Fragments

  • Run-ons

  • Comma splices

  • Basic and complex sentences

  • Relative clauses

Mechanics:

  • Punctuation & capitals

  • Spelling

Methodology: This seminar presents tools to help participants identify and correct the errors in their own writing. Exercises include working with writing samples from the class members’ industry. Participants keep a portfolio of their own writing samples to apply their newly acquired techniques.

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American Pronunciation Essentials

Goal: To provide participants with an overview of American English pronunciation and feedback on how they can make their speech more forceful and easier for others to understand.

Objectives:

  • Difficult sounds

  • Syllable stress in words

  • Word stress in phrases

  • Reductions & contractions

  • Clear enunciation

  • Adjust volume and pace

  • Avoid monotone/greater inflection

  • Make a greater impact

Methodology: This dynamic seminar consists of many activities designed to help participants master the principles: individual and pair work are complemented by mini-talks and peer/instructor feedback. Written materials and software are provided for in-class and at-home study.

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The Right Word

Goal: To help participants develop a process for increasing their professional and idiomatic English vocabulary so that they can choose the right word for a given situation and better follow discussions including American cultural references.

Objectives:

  • Expand professional vocabulary

  • Learn American idioms, phrases, expressions

  • Improve knowledge of formality

  • Study how to use words correctly

  • Understand how to use dictionaries and reference tools

  • Shift passive vocabulary knowledge to active use

  • Improve comprehension in meetings and conversations

  • Gain confidence engaging in social business interactions

  • Develop a process for long term vocabulary improvement

Methodology: Participants in this workshop will track their own vocabulary enrichment goals through keeping a journal, using on-line tools, and identifying useful phrases from professional journals. Lecture and class materials introduce them to new expressions while guiding them in how to make the best use of their vocabulary.

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English in the Workplace

Goal: To improve employees’ general English communication skills, with an emphasis on the language needed to perform job tasks. Trainees improve their speaking, listening, reading, and writing ability while enhancing their pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Objectives:

  • Explain work experience

  • Describe job tasks

  • Report problems

  • Follow instructions

  • Seek clarification

  • Speak up in meetings

  • Read/write brief e-mail messages

Methodology: Using the language in realistic situations in class gives employees the ability to communicate openly with their peers and supervisors. Attention to cultural aspects of communication helps smooth the way for positive rapport in multicultural workplaces.

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Listening for Results