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PROVEN FORMULA FOR INCREASING CONVERSATIONAL CAPACITY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

Honest and open conversations foster teamwork, progress, trust, and just about everything else positive in the workplace. But poor communication derails important initiatives, wrecking morale and torpedoing 20% of projects.*

Conversational Capacity^® teaches people how to engage in constructive, learning-focused dialogue when challenging topics or conflicts arise so they can make informed decisions and find the best solutions, even under high pressure. That’s where difficult exchanges turn into learning opportunities and unfocused meetings become innovation incubators.

50% of employees report missing a significant company objective because of poor communication and 77% say that poor communications hinders their company’s ability to compete.**

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF PRODUCTIVE EXCHANGES WERE THE NORM?

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BEING A GREAT COMMUNICATOR AND LISTENER IS A SKILL

Conversational Capacity is the bedrock for a positive and productive workplace. It redirects all the energy wasted in unproductive exchanges into channels that benefit people and the enterprise.

Engages Employees

When people have honest and meaningful conversations, morale rises and the workplace buzzes with enthusiasm.

Spurs Innovation

People share ideas. Colleagues contribute. The original idea evolves into a great one. That’s how innovation happens.

Improves Productivity

The gap between what people say and others hear closes. Miscommunication and misunderstandings evaporate, and work gets done.

The Keys to Conversational Capacity

Conversational Capacity is the ability of an individual or a team to engage in open, balanced, nondefensive dialogue about difficult subjects and in challenging circumstances. It is also the sweet spot where innovation happens.

Conversational Capacity teaches learners the following:

Awareness: Learners recognize when fight-or-flight reactions prevent real listening and create discomfort in others. This allows for a more intentional response to challenging conversations.
Mindset: Exploring diverse perspectives and listening to contrasting views are emphasized, because that is where the greatest opportunities for insights and growth are.
Skillset: Four behaviors are essential to Conversational Capacity: two that build genuine candor and two that build curiosity. Balancing candor and curiosity creates the conversational sweet spot.

Conversational Capacity Model | The Ken Blanchard Companies

Flexible Delivery To Meet Your Needs

Conversational Capacity Workshops

Conversational Capacity Workshops can be delivered in-person, virtually, or as a collaborative online experience where learners meet weekly while completing course content and activities online. The in-person workshop is one full day. The live virtual workshop spreads sessions over a few consecutive days. The collaborative online workshop takes place over five weeks, with assignments and cohort meetings once a week. With hundreds of facilitators around the world, we can deliver workshops for your organization or equip you to run them yourself. Public workshops are also available.

The training experience includes real-world practice activities

Conversational Capacity Online Overview

The Online Overview for Conversational Capacity is a 35 minute course that teaches the key concepts behind balancing candor and curiosity to find the sweet spot in difficult conversations.

The curriculum covers four skills for keeping conversations open, balanced, and productive, as well as ways to maintain a learning-focused mindset, and a method for overcoming obstacles to conversational capacity. This digital course consists of fun, engaging activities including videos, games, stories, case studies, and online discussions.

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Building Trust Clicks offers quick mobile trust tips

Conversational Capacity Clicks

Our on-demand performance tool, Conversational Capacity Clicks is a set of 9 micro-activities ranging from 1 to 5 minutes that learners can use during moments of need. These bite-sized bits of knowledge help provide quick answers to immediate problems and can be used to reinforce or brush up on skills as needed. The playlist includes videos, activities, and worksheets on topics such as influencing up, tackling touchy topics, why arguing backfires, and leaning into difference.

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RESULTS FOR our CLIENTS

“Building my Conversational Capacity has changed the way I approach problem solving with my team and has led to an increasingly engaged team who feel more comfortable in speaking up and challenging me and others.”

Program Participant

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“I have noticed a change in the way our meetings are running since the Conversational Capacity session. There are some key people who are backing off and asking more questions and not dominating so much; giving others space to share their views.”

Program Participant

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“I have increased my capacity to balance Candor and Curiosity in a range of managerial roles I have been in. I have specifically built my Curiosity skills and have seen the benefits that seeking alternate views has on effective decision making.”

Program Participant

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Remaining Candid and

Curious Under Pressure

PROVEN FORMULA FOR INCREASING CONVERSATIONAL CAPACITY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION