Communication Skills Workshop

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This program will strengthen your leadership communication skills for your current role and more senior roles in the future. It will help you prepare for a broad range of situations, from team meetings, to client interviews, to updating your EM or ED, to leading a workshop or presentation.

The coaches from McAlinden Associates will help you:

• Speak with presence, clarity, and confidence

• Engage your listeners with compelling messages that address their needs and concerns

• Answer questions and manage discussion in a positive way

The rest of this page explains how to choose material to bring to the program, asks you to set a few goals, and provides an overview of the sessions.

Choose material to bring to the program

This program uses your own content, not case studies. Bring in one or two meetings or presentations to practice.

• Ideally the meetings you practice will happen after the program. However, if you are “on the beach” or don’t have an upcoming meeting to practice, bring something from the past that was challenging.

• You can practice with material that you are developing, but your EM or ED will actually present to the client.

• You can bring work-in-progress. You will have brief preparation periods.

• You will present one of these as a 10-minute stand-up presentation, even if the real meeting will be longer and will happen around a table.

• In a later session on interactive skills, you will have options:

  • Continue to use the same content or switch to something different

  • Practice a meeting around a table, a call, or another presentation

  • Practice communicating to a small group or one-to-one

• Bring your laptop with any visuals you would like to use. While you will present in English, you do not need to translate visuals that are in another language. Do not script yourself or over-prepare.

• McAlinden Associates has carefully maintained the confidentiality of McKinsey material for over 40 years.

Tell us who you are and what your goals are

If you would like to use a self-evaluation to think about your skills before answering these questions, click here. Many people also seek input from a few colleagues whose opinions they value.

Overview of the program

Why is this program important for you?

You face an increasing variety of challenging communication situations. You need to communicate as a problem solver, as an advisor to your clients and as a thought leader. You have to adapt the way you communicate your message to different listeners so that you can move ideas to action.

What results should you expect?

This program will help you understand how you are perceived by others and what you can do to build your skills. You will get a framework for preparing and delivering a convincing message that meets both your listeners' needs and your own objectives. You will increase your ability to project confidence, naturalness and credibility — whether you are standing up with PowerPoint, leading a discussion or meeting, or handling tough questions.

How do you get the most out of it?

Throughout the program you will experiment with different approaches to communicating your own McKinsey material. You will work in small groups and receive extensive constructive feedback from coaches and your colleagues.  Those participants who are willing to step out of their comfort zone to try things differently, and those who bring in real situations that are meaningful to them — rather than hypothetical or easy material — learn the most.

How are the sessions organized?

The program is 1.5 days, divided into three half-days, which are each 4.5 hours.

• If your program starts on Monday morning, you will do the first and second half-days Monday and the third half-day Tuesday morning.

• If your program starts on Tuesday afternoon, you will do the first half-day Tuesday and the second and third half-days Wednesday.

• If your program starts Thursday morning, you will do the first and second half-days Thursday and the third half-day Friday morning.

First half-day – increase presence and focus on listeners

Second half-day — present with visuals

Third half-day — lead meetings and answer questions

Questions?

Email us goals@mcalinden.com or call us +1 212 986 4950

About us

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