KIP Communication believes in the power of communication skills to transform both personal and professional relationships and decrease staff stress by enhancing the organization’s tool kit of effective strategies for helping clients.

 

KIP COMMUNICATION principal Vicki Austad holds a Master’s Degree in Interpersonal Communication. With 35 years of experience facilitating communication skills groups from prisoners to preschool teachers, chronically unemployed to university students, staff members to board volunteers, Vicki is well equipped to work with any client group and any crisis situation.  She is honest and funny and accepts and respects each participant. She uses her extensive knowledge to create opportunities for participants to challenge themselves and grow in self awareness.

 

 

Ms. Austad brings a wealth of education, experience and expertise to organizations or individuals wanting to improve their relationships with enhanced communication skills.The four workshops described below are the key offerings of KIP Communication. The company also offers standard communication presentations including anger management, verbal, nonverbal and cross-cultural communication, etc. The company also presents seminars on personalizing the internet, the power of women and defensive vs. supportive communication. Seminar materials and presentation styles are original and unique to the company; this experience will not be duplicated by any other firm.

 

The four key workshops are useful and engaging as staff training opportunities, client presentations or even in a group of staff and clients. All four topics can be delivered in a full day presentation, while individual topics receive a more intense treatment in a 3 hour half day session. All sessions are guaranteed to be full of information and intensity, education and entertainment, music and merriment, poetry and projections.

 

 

 

This approach to managing life issues is based on communication and interpersonal skills instead of therapy.

The workshop helps participants to acquire the knowledge and practice the skills to improve the quality of their lives and relationships, and to help others do the same.

 

Phase One: FEEL

Emotions colour your analysis of any interpersonal exchange. The workshop helps participants to more accurately articulate their feelings in any situation. This is a critical first step for change.

Phase Two: WANT

This phase uses the participant’s innate creativity and imagination to explore what life could look like. Creativity exercises and games stimulate the imagination and nurture the courage required to dream of a better life.

Phase Three: WILLING

This is the action stage of the process. When participants have articulated what they want, the next stage is to define what they are WILLING to do to get there. In most cases, people are willing to do somewhat less than what they say they want. This is to be expected and the importance of the process is to be able to both articulate dreams and plan for reality.

 

 

 

 

Assertiveness is not a midway point [nor is it a guaranteed “win”] but rather a way of thinking. Through interactive discussion, simulations, information and entertainment, this workshop presents a new and exciting interpretation of assertiveness based on these two simple principles:

a)   Your thoughts, feelings, ideas, beliefs, etc. are “valid” - they are a direct and understandable consequence of your life experience. Valid does not mean absolute truth; what is valid for me may not be valid for you, but each has equal worth. Accepting the validity of your thoughts, feelings, ideas etc. is assertive behaviour. Failing to accept this validity is passive behaviour.

 

b)    Other people do not have to agree with you or give you what you want in order for your feelings and ideas to be valid. Reacting negatively either overtly or passively when people do not accept the validity of your thoughts is aggression. Accepting the fact that people are entitled to disagree with you is assertive behaviour.

 

Participants [staff, clients or a group of both] will come away with more confidence in their own ability to choose to act assertively through workshop simulations and future planning.

 

 

 

 THE 80/20 RULE: A STRATEGY FOR PERFECTION

 

Most people suffer [at least to some degree] from approval sickness [“Everyone has to like me all of the time”] and “perfection infection” [“I cannot make a mistake and if I do I have to feel mad at myself”]. From job interviews to personal relationships, this thinking inhibits the quality of life for many.

 

The fundamental message of the workshop is that about 10% you and the people you meet will not care for each other. On the other hand, there are about 10% of the people you meet who think you are amazing! Release the people you don’t care about and relax with those with whom you can be yourself. Workshop participants work to address approval and perfection issues so that they can embrace the significance of the remaining 80% of the population who DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU. This group of people represents your opportunity to improve your communication and interpersonal relationship skills. The real learning opportunities are with this middle 80%. Participants will learn and practice successful interpersonal communication strategies and be able to identify opportunities where these new skills can be used effectively.

 

As useful the thoughts of self help authors can be, many people find it difficult to take the time to read their works and distill relevant information. In addition, it’s often difficult to determine how these ideas can be applied to everyday life. People read the work but often fail to apply the ideas.

This information packed and interactive experience distills the most practical and useful thoughts of the most familiar authors of self help and human development work. These ideas are discussed and positioned within the real life experiences of the staff and/or clients participating in the session. Participants plan to apply these “nuggets” at the organizational level as well and articulate how this new information will be used.

 

Ø  “People do what works” – Dr. Phil McGraw

Ø  “You and I are not in agreement” – Marshall Rosenberg

Ø  “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” – Stephen Covey

Ø  “Anything you really want, you can attain, if you really go after it.” – Wayne Dyer

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“One small step of kindness contributes to one large step for humankind” – Craig Kielburger