The biggest single problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

George Bernard Shaw

Successful communicators possess people skills, and written and oral verbal skills that allow them to target and deliver key messages in a way that results in morale, productivity, workplace relationships and resilience being enhanced. This has never been more necessary than in the post-pandemic VUCA environment in which we live and operate whether we’re working from home, in the office or in the community.

Talk to us about this training: we help embed foundational principles in your employees’ interpersonal, team and organisational communication so that communication breakdown is avoided and productivity and engagement are enhanced.

“It’s not enough to know what to say – one must also know how to say it.”

- Aristotle (384-322 BC)

No matter how technology changes, a speaker’s ability to persuade, inform, entertain and move the audience to action remains a fundamental business skill. Your ability to speak with clarity, confidence and authority enhances your credibility and that of your organisation.

Did you realise that most people ‘fear’ speaking to a group of people more than they fear flying, creepy insects and even death!

Communication Works provides proven and effective techniques for managing anxiety, structuring the content of presentations and speeches, and delivering the message in a dynamic and ‘audience-centred’ style.

Talk to us about how you can become the successful public speaker and presenter you’ve always wanted to be so you can take every opportunity to stand and deliver!

Writing effectively saves you time, money and energy, as well as enhancing your organisation's credibility, image and reputation. Effective business writing training can, and will, make a difference to both the individual and the organisation. Poor punctuation and grammar are easily remedied and immediate results are demonstrated.

Communication Works' training is held in-house, which means that you get the customised training you need - not generic training that's been designed for other people. Between five and fifty people can be accommodated at your own workplace, or we'll provide a suitable venue off-site.

One-on-one mentoring, either as a follow-up from the training, or as a stand-alone option, provides valuable training continuity that produces tangible benefits.

Please note that the content of this workshop can be tailored to meet your organisation's time schedule and requirements.

Why do we avoid courageous and crucial conversations or choose not to speak up when we see and experience workplace behaviour or attitudes that do not align with our organisational and professional values? Often it results from fear that speaking up will make the situation worse for us, and/or our team. Sometimes it’s our communication style and the concern that people may misunderstand our intent and our message. 

This full- or half-day workshop provides practical skills to deliver honest, constructive and strategic feedback so that we can model our values and build the team culture.

 What participants have said about this course:

The method of communicating, how to use and when to use are the treasure. Frameworks and templates are cherry on top"

"The facilitator was fantastic with great energy. The scenarios were relatable. and the resources really useful.”

"Learning the different ways to approach a difficult conversation - my favourite is the DESC approach."

"A great balance between theory and practical exercises. A really great course that I would recommend.”

“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”

- Katzenbach and Smith

Working well with others in a team allows us to solve problems, negotiate differences and find new and innovative ways of doing things that improve morale and enhance productivity.  While most of us know this, it’s not always that easy to make it happen.  Understanding our work style and how we operate with the different styles of our colleagues, gives the team a platform to use our strengths to advantage and manage our weaknesses. As a result, the team develops trust and understanding.

Every team member, every leader and every organisation will benefit from building self-awareness about their strengths and managing their limitations. Talk to us about how we can assist you find the key to shared understanding and mutual purpose!

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

- Maya Angelou

Customer service has always been and always will be about experience! We need our customers to come back because of their positive experience whether it’s in person or online.

Communication Works customises this half-day workshop to suit your staff and business goals. Your staff will take away targeted customer-driven skills that can be applied immediately, whatever the business and whatever the challenges.

Chaired well, meetings increase commitment to the task, harness the group’s strengths, promote creative solutions that achieve results, and deliver a sense of satisfaction.

Everyone recognises the frustration that results when a meeting is not chaired well. Unfortunately, too often the agenda is poorly structured, meeting rules and procedures are either unknown or ignored, information is ‘processed’, but not ‘actioned’, and the synergy of the group is not embraced.

This half- or full-day workshop can be customised to your business and will help you plan, organise and facilitate meetings that not only share important information but get things done!

‘Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and consistent effort.’

•  Paul J Meyer, Professional development expert

  Productivity is a critical business issue. Research shows that New Zealand workers are putting in more time, but output per hour is well short of wealthier nations. We’re running faster and getting behind at the same time.

This popular half-day workshop helps you organise and prioritise the activities and tasks of your workday so that you are working on the activities that will yield the best results!

Whether you are working onsite or from home, this workshop will give you strategies to identify your personal productivity preferences and pitfalls, and to develop strategies to focus your attention and manage your environment. In addition, you’ll help others to plan and prioritise work to meet commitments and organisational goals.

Thank you Desiree... Big takeaways from the sessions. Upon reflection I have learnt many strategies and actually implemented more than I realised.

Online workshop May 2025

Thanks again Desiree - Some great learnings and reminders.

Mentoring offers mentees the benefits of experience, distance, balance, perspective and wisdom, in addition to the opportunity to develop career opportunities.

Professions are built upon the transmission of wisdom, guidance and expertise from senior, experienced practitioners who guide and mentor less experienced graduates and colleagues.

This four-hour workshop explores the skills required to embed a mentoring culture that supports and guides less experienced colleagues, assists them to achieve their goals and strengthens leadership development within the organisation.

Talk to us about how we can help your organisation and your teams benefit from effective mentoring.

We’d love to assist you with some one-one coaching. Talk to us about your goals and we’ll co-create a coaching programme to help you achieve them.

What others have said:

Desirée was absolutely fantastic to work with - I really enjoyed our sessions together and found that I learned a lot and have a lot more tools to add to my toolkit! Particularly, around having difficult conversations, presentation techniques, and clarity in my vision and purpose for my team (and as an individual). Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity. It was a fantastic learning experience, and Desirée is amazing :) 12/12/2022 12:37 PM

We operate in challenging and stressful economic and social times. The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) business environment means increasingly those in customer/client-facing roles must deal with unpredictable, frustrated, and disaffected people. Communicating with clarity is key to managing expectations. It is crucial to be able to prevent frustration from escalating and provide a pathway for a win-win solution, whatever the sector we operate within.

Learning outcomes

This half-day interactive workshop tailored to your specific requirements, provides strategies, tips and tools for:

·       building awareness of what triggers conflict within others and ourselves

·       using empathy and emotional intelligence to understand the impact of interpersonal communication and achieve clarity on the phone or in person

·       redirecting interactions through reflective listening and questioning

·       setting boundaries and maintaining safety

·       demonstrating calm and confident solution-focused options.

Talk to us about customising this workshop to your needs.