Communication Consultant

Solve your communication challenges

My name is Alexander Van Buren and I am a communication consultant specializing in verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

My background includes over a decade of NLP training, consulting and coaching experience.

You can read more about my background here.

I offer consultations by phone and in person. I also offer communication skills coaching when it's appropriate.

For a free telephone consultation at no cost or obligation, please contact us.

Below are some of the corporate communication modules I offer.

For an in depth look at the personal communication skills I teach and practice, please see Weekend Skill Builders or NLP Techniques.

I also offer some special workshops to help teams and groups improve their communication.

Communication skills training

Based on your team's unique strengths, weaknesses and existing communication patterns, we will create a customized communication training for your group using some of the modules and ideas described on this page.

These workshops are an excellent way to improve essential communication skills. These skills include listening, rapport, giving feedback, giving and receiving positive praise. They will also help your group identify the primary communication blocks that have been keeping them from reaching their maximum potential.

Each communication skills workshop is packed with techniques for utilizing communication to improve productivity, teamwork and over-all understanding within a group or organization.

Emphasis is placed on specific skills to help managers plan, lead, motivate, delegate and manage more effectively.

Over-all training themes include

Understanding the communication model and its components.
Recognizing problems in communication sequences.
Developing strategies and skills for successful communication.
Gaining tools to ensure that the speaker and the listener have reached the same understanding.

Individual assessment

Assess your team's over-all strengths and weaknesses when it comes to communication. Create a specific plan for quantum leaping the communication skills of your team.

Building active communication skills

Some specific communication skills that may be included are: back-tracking, paraphrasing, rapport, perception checking, increasing specificity, conflict resolution, back tracking to clarify understanding, identifying and eliciting closely held values and criteria and evidence procedures.

Also included are the skills of gathering information more elegantly, pacing and leading, matching and mirroring, outcome oriented language and direction, noticing and using the non verbal responses of others, communicating more congruently and many more.

Improved telephone skills

Improve voice mail and e-mail communication.

Listening to and coaching others

Learn how to use language more effectively to motivate, influence, educate and inspire. Enroll and inspire others with your vision more effectively.

Using individual communication styles

Resolve conflicts and maximize productivity. Learn easy ways to communicate effectively with difficult personalities types and communication styles.

Public speaking and presentation skills

Learn a simple method for preparing and delivering presentations with confidence.

Team challenge series

Paired exercises are used to practice sending and receiving clear messages, identify useful communication patterns, values and better ways to motivate and inspire others.

Follow up plan for team leaders

A customized follow up plan for managers and team leaders can be provided as part of your training. The plan empowers team leaders by providing them with specific follow up modules and exercises to be conducted in the form of "active meetings" or mini-follow-up sessions to ensure maximum integration of the material.

A Sample Half Day Communication Training

Length

Four hours with one ten-minute break.

Handouts

1. The point of view technique handout
2. The Make it so handout
3. The Intention and response handout

Goals of this training

People’s actions and communications are made with much more consideration of how they will affect other people. As a result, the negative indirect effects people have on others
has been reduced considerably.

There is a clearer understanding of exactly what is to be done and by when, by both the leader and those who are being asked to do or complete something. As a result, people are consistently doing what was intended.

Module I
Minimizing negative indirect effects on others
90 minutes

This section will begin with a positive motivational message about the benefits of great communication, how good it feels to connect and be heard and to feel truly understood.

This inspiring message will also cover how good communication makes everyone more effective, allows you to feel you’re making a difference and eliminates confusion.

The steps of the Point of View Technique will be covered along with the help of a hand out.

The Point Of View Technique is a simple way to consistently realize how your actions are going to effect other people, before you take them. It makes it easy to decide how to adjust your actions so they help or at least doesn't’t negatively affect others.

Practice exercise: In groups of 3, the point of view technique.

Module II
People consistently do what was intended
90 minutes

The handout will be used along with 2 practice exercises.
A brief presentation of the importance of clear understanding in communication will be given.

Exercise 1
Regular communication between two people. This interaction is followed by a discussion of how ineffective it was.

Exercise 2
Using the ‘Precise Intention, Precise Response’ hand out. This interaction is followed by a discussion of how much more effective this way of communication is.

When you’re communicating an intention

Communicating clear outcomes and expectations and how to ensure the other person understands specifically what to do and by when. This section will include specific questions and language to use.

When you’re receiving a communication

Ways to clarify what’s been communicated to you, what exactly you are expected to do and by when. This section will include specific questions to ask.

Discussion of how empowering it is for both the sender and receiver of the message.

Module III
Integration
1 hour

The last hour of the workshop will focus entirely on helping everyone make sure they actually use the techniques that have been covered. The ‘Make It So’ handout will be given out. It features a set of one-time actions and a set of regular actions for people to take.

This last hour of the training is dedicated entirely to supporting everyone to come up with their own best ways of making sure they follow up on this seminar by setting up their own personal plan of action to use after the training.