The workshops outlined below are just some of the personal and professional development courses currently being offered at the Liverpool Empowerment Centre.

 

 

The list, and the courses themselves, are ever changing. "The need to take account of new techniques and new ideas gives the impetus for change," explains Jo, "but the main reason is the need to avoid getting stale. If I was delivering the same material now that I was ten years ago I'd probably be pretty boring and certainly be very bored."

 

It is widely recognized that technical skills, knowledge and experience do not themselves guarantee increased performance. To be sustainable, improved performance needs to be based not only on an increase in knowledge and skills but also on improved confidence and self-esteem. Poor morale, lack of confidence, low self-esteem and stress all adversely affect not only the individual but also their colleagues and their organization. The training of employees therefore needs to take into account their personal development, motivation and well-being to encourage them to achieve their potential.

 

The courses cover a wide range and a participant in a telephone techniques course may have a vastly different background to one working on their leadership skills or enhancing their public speaking techniques. In all cases Jo combines her sound business knowledge and skills with her insight into motivation and the development of human potential.

 

"The highly regarded telephonist, the maker of a happy home and the successful entrepreneurial leader all have two things in common - the fact that a large part of their success is not due to their knowledge but to their inter-personal skills and the fact that that they devote some effort to their own personal well-being. I enjoy working with people for heir own development and a number of people who come on my courses do so purely for their own benefit. In other cases, people come because of the impact that the development of their own potential will have on the improvement of their organizations. In all cases it is not just they who should benefit but also those who come into contact with them."

 

 

This section is designed both for businesses and their employees and private individuals seeking their own personal development. Where courses are specifically run in-house for an organisation they can be tailored to the particular needs of that organisation. Certain intrinsic values are built into each and every workshop.

 

 

 

The Liverpool Empowerment Centre provides a wide variety of workshops - not just those shown below - for details please contact the Centre on 07828 707 211 or e-mail the Centre.

 

 

 

 

Continuing Professional Development

 

The Centre not only provides training for certificates and diplomas in Counselling but also has a range of workshops designed to provide continuing professional development for practitioners. Examples of such courses include loss and bereavement, parental attachment, stress management, attachment styles, psychosexual therapy (a brief overview), suicide, legal implications in counselling,etc.

 

In addition to contributing to the therapist's continuing professional development such workshops provide an ideal opportunity for networking and joining together in a relaxed atmosphere to discuss best practice and issues of current concern.

 

 

 

Stress and Anxiety Management

 

We need a certain amount of stress to survive - it makes for quick reactions, dynamic thought and the ability to cope with change and challenge. However, we also need to do something when our stress levels exceed those which are good for us. If we are under too much stress our well-being suffers and so does the quality of our work and our relationships with colleagues, friends and family.

 

In the past, stress was sometimes dismissed as being something that only others suffer from... All too often there would be a tendency to put off dealing with it or to think that all we needed was a holiday (ranked among the top ten stress creators!). It was also looked upon by some individuals as a sign of weakness. Stress management courses were once stigmatised as being for the 'weak' or 'the people who can't cope'. Nowadays a far more enlightened attitude tends to be found and everyone from the top manager to the newest young recruit in an organisation is recognised as potentially suffering from it. Similarly it is recognised that many aspects of our home lives and relationships can also lead to excessive stress.

 

High stress levels and their effects are recognized as one of the major commercial threats facing businesses today. Time off due to anxiety, stress and related illnesses have dramatically increased over the last ten years and the cost to organizations runs into billions of pounds. To this can be added many other effects including poor performance, conflict, anger, anxiety, impaired judgement, poor decisions and ultimately lost customers. Stress is exacting a heavy toll from individuals and companies alike. Indeed, recent litigation against organisations which have failed to recognize and manage stress in the workplace has proved even more costly to them.

 

This one day course is aimed at raising awareness of stress and its effects and at offering techniques for recognizing stress in oneself and others and then managing it. It examines the physical basis of stress, healthy and unhealthy stress levels, and the relationship between unhealthy stress levels and certain types of thoughts, actions and feelings.

 

Participants will identify their own stress triggers in a non-threatening environment. They will learn ways of coping with and reducing the effects of stress on themselves and others including tried and tested methods of stress management.

 

 

 

Developing Assertiveness Skills

 

Communicating and dealing with people is an important and integral part of our lives - be it in work or in our social and domestic lives. At some stage we all face uncomfortable and difficult situations that could potentially lead to open or hidden conflict and hostility. This seminar examines behaviour that will enable the participant to deal with people constructively and effectively and create good productive communication internally as well as externally.

 

The workshop includes looking at fundamental issues with regard to assertive behaviour such as the difference between assertiveness and other behaviours like aggression. It explores the role of the voice and of body language and the reason why behaviour can become aggressive rather than assertive.

 

Participants will learn skills which enable them to handle conflict more positively and constructively; challenge positively and effectively; give feedback and receive criticism constructively; and generally make a more effective contribution through their communication.

 

 

 

Effective Communication

 

"It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."

 

This course looks at the importance of listening skills, responding and questioning and how to use them to good effect in working, family, and personal relationships. It introduces participants to the core counselling skills which are fundamental to effective and productive communication, both verbal and non-verbal. The course also looks at the blocks which may inhibit our ability to deal effectively with people at all levels and also raises awareness of negative and prejudicial influences which can adversely affect communication and working relationships.

 

 

Participants will also learn skills which enable them to handle conflict more positively and constructively; challenge positively and effectively; give feedback and receive criticism constructively; and generally make a more effective contribution through their communication.

 

 

 

Confident Speaking for Women

 

A one day course for women who want to enhance their communication and public speaking skills. The course looks at confidence and self-esteem and the relationship between those and how we interact with others. It examines the blocks and fears which inhibit our ability to speak in public and gives practical tips which help overcome nerves and enable us to perform and become effective communicators.

 

The course covers one-to-one communication as well as group meetings and presentations to larger audiences. The course examines different types of behaviour and introduces participants to tried and tested techniques and strategies for adopting a more confident demeanour.

 

 

 

Advanced Confident Speaking for Women

 

This is a follow up to the introductory course above and further develops the skills, techniques and insights. It offers more in-depth awareness of human development and its affect on our ability to acquire self-confidence and project it in our working and personal relationships. Participants will be encouraged to make a short presentation on the day.

 

 

 

Customer Care

 

Customers are the life blood of any organization and any contact with existing or potential customers is vital to the success of the company. Research has shown that only 10% of dissatisfied customers complain directly to the organization, but, nearly 100% of those customers will pass on their dissatisfaction to others. Direct referrals from satisfied customers are an important part of an organization's business base. In a service-based organization this may even be a primary source of new business. Consequently any staff who have contact with existing or potential customers are a crucial factor in determining the success of the company for whom they work.

 

This seminar will focus on all aspects of contact with customers both verbal and non-verbal, face to face, on the telephone and by written communication (including e-mails). How to create a welcoming, positive, professional and competent image; how to deal with negative situations and people; dealing with complaints and promoting a positive image.

 

 

 

Leadership, Management and Motivation

 

Successful companies have successful staff. For an organization to be successful it must look to managing and motivating its workforce. This seminar looks at the role of leadership styles; training; motivation; delegation; problem solving; assessment and appraisal; effective communication; inter-personal skills; and the ways to build a successful and united staff team. Every one of those topics merits a course in itself but Jo gives an insight into each one in such a way as to give participants many positive tips as well as enabling them to continue to develop long after the seminar is over.

 

Leadership, Management and Motivation is particularly suited to those who are taking on a new managerial role. It can also be tailored to groups of senior managers and when held in-house is an ideal forum for beginning team building during a time of change.

 

 

 

Public Speaking & Presentation Skills

 

Asked to rank their greatest fears, a group of college students put death at number seven and speaking before a group as number one!

 

This course discusses the role of 'nerves' or fear and the part they play in inhibiting our performance in front of a group of people. It does not aim to eliminate entirely the stress involved - as Lord Mancroft once commented 'Without nerves nobody ever made a good speech.' The aim of the course is to seek to reduce such nerves to a manageable level and take advantage of those positive aspects of being keyed up that help us to perform even better than usual.

 

The course covers key tips and techniques not only on improving performance and delivery but also on how to (and when to) inter-act with an audience. These tips include how to cope with 'drying up' and with awkward or difficult audiences but points out that in the vast majority of cases the audience is actually wanting us to perform well. By the end of the day participants will have learned, in a non-threatening environment, the real secrets behind a good and effective presentation.

 

 

 

The Effective Telephonist / Receptionist

 

"You have only one chance to create a first impression."

 

The first contact people have with your organization will lay the foundations of any future relationship. Because of this your company may be judged by the impressions customers and potential customers gain of your reception and telephone staff. Often comparatively low in the hierarchy of an organization's payroll these people may have more contact and, in that respect, be more important than the company director or accountant. Never underestimate how important their roles are.

 

The course covers first impressions (you and your reception area); the importance of the receptionist / telephonist's role; effective listening and communication (verbal and non-verbal); the visitor and customer profile; dealing with negative situations and complaints; telephone skills and tips on how to use them to the best advantage. An enjoyable and really useful day, this course is for all telephonists and receptionists who have the important task of creating that 'First Impression' of a professional image.

 

 

 

Using Both Sides of the Brain

 

The left and right sides of the brain control two different methods of thinking – very broadly speaking the left is logical and analytical while the right is intuitive and creative though it is far more complex than that. Usually each of us has a preference for using one side rather than the other. Whichever is your natural side you will have been encouraged at school to use the left brain.

 

Attending this workshop can help you recognise the side of the brain that you naturally use and show you how to develop the use of the other side so that you have a more rounded approach to life. The workshop also shows you how to release self-limiting beliefs by using the 'can do' part of the brain not the 'can't do' part.

 

During the workshop you will learn lots of exercises which you can take away with you (and amaze your friends with!)

 

 

 

Enhancing your Self-Esteem

 

Low self-esteem can have a substantial impact upon our lives and affect relationships, job performance and life in general. Research shows that self-esteem and confidence are intrinsically linked and can be increased by certain training and therapeutic techniques.

 

This workshop helps individuals to identify the causes of low self-esteem, shows how to heal old wounds and blocks that stop us achieving peak performance, and how self-worth is a key to a successful and happy life.

 

 

 

Clearing Your Clutter

 

This workshop helps people to learn why they clutter their lives and their houses and how clutter causes stress, sluggishness and dejection. Learn why clearing your jumble and muddle is so important for a stress-free and positive existence.

 

Above all, and probably what most people seek from the workshop, is learning practical tips on clearing your clutter and stopping yourself from repeating it without getting compulsively tidy in the process.

 

 

 

Healing with Crystals

 

Crystal healing, as a therapy in itself, may appear to be new, using ideas and methods from many cultures combined together, but the present day interest in crystal healing is simply a continuation of mankind’s fascination with gemstones and minerals down the ages.

 

There has been no historical period, nor any culture that has not prized crystals for their visual, magical or healing properties. Crytsal therapy is concerned with using the energy contained within crystals for healing the physical body and tackling mental and emotional issues.

 

Learn about the crystals which have healing powers, which crystal to use for different aspects of healing, and how to purify sand use your crystals. The workshop will be run by an ACHO (Affiliation of Crystal Healing Organisations) registered member.

 

 

 

Other Workshops

 

Other workshops available include - A New Approach to Time Management, Basic Listening Skills, and Team Building.

 

Things that don't get a mention - the intrinsic values

 

The "Things that don't get a mention" in the course outlines are those intrinsic values which underpin all of Jo's work and which are included in every course, training session or seminar which she runs. They will receive a greater or lesser mention according to the particular course and may, in some cases, receive no direct mention at all. Nevertheless theses values will always be present.

 

That the training environment shall be a harmonious, safe, non-threatening one.

 

That all participants will be treated equally and encouraged to treat others equally regardless of sexuality, race, gender, colour, creed, ability or any other factor.

 

That discriminatory behaviour will be challenged.

 

That anything said or done on the training is confidential between the trainer and participants and participants must feel free to say what they think without fear that the trainer will 'report back on them'.

 

That all normal Health and Safety rules will apply.

 

That the basic principles of customer care should underpin all training for people in employment.

 

That participants are encouraged to pass on any knowledge, skills and tips that they have learned on her courses but that an acknowledgement of their source is always appreciated.

 

That training should be a fun experience.

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