Category Archives: Interpersonal Communications

Interpersonal human communications

NCCA Canada Toronto Event Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9th 2017

CONTACT: Mr. Ric Phillips, Executive Director, [email protected], 647-478-8612

NCCA Canada Hosted Innovative Toronto Event Connecting Communication Coaches With Small Business Entrepreneurs to Help Improve Business Communications

Toronto City Hall, October 13th 2017 — The key to successfully starting and growing a business is effective communications.  An entrepreneur or small business owner may have a great idea, but will not get much interest from anyone if they cannot share their vision, persuasively pitch, and clearly explain their products and services. There are professional coaches and trainers who focus on helping people improve their business communication skills, and they need a place and an organization to meet each other.

NCCA Canada proudly partnered with YEDI (York Entrepreneurship Development Institute) and the City of Toronto to co-host a half-day professional development and networking event at Toronto City Hall where professionals from various industries learned how to develop these vital business communication skills. Jason Easton, MPP Jeff Leal’s Chief of Staff for the Small Business in Ontario portfolio gave opening remarks on the importance of honing professional communications before NCCA President, speaker extraordinaire and body language expert Mark Bowden delivered a truly memorable keynote on persuasive non-verbal communication. NCCA Executive Director Ric Phillips then led an interactive learning workshop on the art of the quick pitch. This led to lunch and mini-workshops hosted by Colleen Clarke on the topic of how networking is really “telling, not selling” and Dr. Marat Ressin on clarifying a business vision. The half-day ended with a panel discussion on the trends in the coaching and learning & development industries.

“This was a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to quickly learn and implement the same day specific and very useful business communication skills, and then network with other business people and communication coaches who teach these skills,” said Co-Founder and Executive Director of NCCA Canada Ric Phillips.

This event was open to everyone and received praise for it’s innovative model from coaches, trainers, vendors and entrepreneurs.

“It was invigorating. To finally be in a community of communicators, swapping stories and ideas about the work we do, and to listen to such accomplished, interesting speakers was great. Thank you for seeing the need and for building a high quality base for us” said Eleanor James, Communication Coach/Trainer.

About NCCA Canada

NCCA (National Communication Coaching Association) Canada is a nationally registered non-profit organization that acts as a home for communication skills coaches, trainers and enthusiasts, providing professional development, networking and designation opportunities for its members.  NCCA also provides communication coach/trainer and training company designation standards, peer review and official designation lists, used for professional credentialing. The primary mission of NCCA is to contribute to the growth of personal and professional communication skills, both here and abroad.

Building From Bullying TEDx Talk

I’d like to share Janson Chan’s TEDx Talk here.  I had the pleasure to meet Janson and work with him on his public speaking and pitching skills through my work with YEDI (York Entrepreneurship Development Institute) and LaunchYU.  Later when he was asked to speak at an Autism-focused TEDx conference, he reached out to me for additional coaching, and I was happy to help him with his talk.  Here is the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0WcwrQ3-r0), and here’s his gracious testimonial:

“Ric understands the point of view of the audience and the speaker. He coached me to empower my stories, emotions, and passion into an effective speech to an audience of experts that has delivered results. He was able to understand my strengths and weaknesses as a speaker and tailored his approach to give me the confidence needed to perform, wherever the setting, from large events to smaller team meetings.  Working with Ric I have been able to develop from a person who was terrified of public speaking to a person who delivered an effective TED talk to researchers and advocates. Ric has demonstrated the knowledge, expertise and persistence as an effective Communication Coach for any occasion.”  Janson Chan, Executive Director of Autism Teenage Partnership (ATP), TEDx Speaker: “Building from Bullying”

The TrumpShake Saga Continues with the Comey Shake-Hug

Here’s another Maclean’s video interview where I am asked about the non-verbal communication of President Trump with others, including James Comey.  It’s a quick analysis of Trump’s ‘aggressive’ off-balancing TrumpShake, his open arm and head nod gesture (including chin thrust) to James Comey, and Comey’s initial hesitations, uncomfortable hand-wringing gesture and his seemingly strong desire to not show rapport with Trump, and escape the scene ASAP.  Enjoy!

What Does Your Handshake Say? Learn These Tips

Balanced Counter Shake

Everyone is talking about President Trump’s power handshakes, and today everyone is proud of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not allowing Trump to bully-handshake him at their White house meeting yesterday.  I was contacted yesterday myself by Maclean’s Magazine for an interview on my thoughts on their non-verbal communication. That short video can be seen here, but be advised the interview was done before the video was made, so my comments do not necessarily match up with the images shown.

Are handshakes such a big deal?  Well, yes, they are.  They show non-verbal communication intentions on dominance, control, balance and openness. They are worthy of a bit of study, and I will give some tips on what to do or not do when shaking hands, particularly at a political or business function.

To start, ‘medium’ is the rule to remember. Walk at a medium pace, speak with medium voice/volume, gesture and shake hands with medium speed. This shows you are calm and in control of yourself.

After a calm approach, you should make sure you are engaged in eye contact and then smile as you extend your hand. Maintain good posture as you approach and extend the hand. Don’t bend at the waist (unless in Asia or with Asian delegates) and don’t over-extend your arm so you appear too eager and/or off-balance. Introduce yourself (e.g. Hello – I’m Ric. Nice to meet you!) and connect hands (not fingers) evenly, palm to palm. Be ‘firm but fair’ to the other people in your networking circles! Never crush a hand and never offer a seemingly ‘broken wrist’ or ‘just-fingers’ weak handshake. Both hands should be level – do not twist the hands to either extreme side, if possible. I am not a fan of twisting someone’s hand so that my palm is up and they have ‘the upper hand’ now, or vice versa. Let’s start off on equal footing, shall we?

Pump your hands 2-4 times, gently and evenly, and repeat the person’s name after they introduce themselves to help you retain that new information if necessary.  There is usually no need for extra tactics, like using your free hand to clasp the hands while shaking (the double) or patting the shoulder of the person you are engaging (the pat-down). In the North American culture these extras are not necessary, but if someone does that to you, it’s almost natural to return the favour, to even the score. Go ahead and do unto others as they do unto you.

Dominant people may want you to enter a room first and will gesture to let you go first, and may even lightly touch/pat your back, as a ‘guide’ through the doorway.  It looks polite (and it technically is) but it also is another example of them ‘steering’ you somewhere and being in control because they can see you the whole time, and you need to ‘trust’ them when they’re behind you.  In evolutionary terms, you never wanted a potential predator or someone you didn’t know/trust to be behind you where you’re vulnerable to blind attack.

Regardless of what is in their mind or their style of greeting, you should always aim for a balanced and equal meet to start the relationship on the right foot. Just don’t be surprised if others have favourite tactics they wish to use on you.  Whether it is at a formal business meeting or at a relaxed social outing, learning how to hand shake with balance and confidence, and learning how to match the other person’s style is all good practice!  Go ahead – put your best hand forward!  🙂

 

My TED Talk: The Long Life of First Impressions

The importance of interpersonal skills in today’s tech-world cannot be underrated or undervalued, and that’s why I focused my recent TED Talk on them.  Please take a moment to view and learn about “The Long Life of First Impressions”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuG-BHquAHU 
If you like it, please ‘like’ it and share to your social networks, or directly on YouTube. Let’s spread the idea!  Much appreciated!

Become a Certified 3V Communication Coach

stamp-clipart-panda-free-clipart-images-0qqli2-clipartAre you interested in becoming a Certified Communication Coach?

Coaching in general is an exploding industry, and the interest in communication coaching itself has tripled in the last few years. There are organizations that can certify you as a life coach, NLP coach, business coach etc. but currently there are not many, or no  organizations that can certify you as a Communication Coach, except the one that started it – 3V Communications.  If you think you have the background and interest in being certified as a Communication Coach by 3V Communications we do provide that service.

You will need to train under our system, learn our courses and philosophies etc. and be assessed.  At the end of training you will be certified and have a ton of material and knowledge that you can use to either work with us or completely independent of us.  The choice is yours.

What is a Communication Coach?

There are different definitions according to different coaching organizations, independent coaches and their backgrounds. Some coaches focus on writing, or public speaking, or corporate training, etc. Some attempt to do all. At the end of training you can decide how general or specific you want to be when advertising services. It is always best to specialize on the area or a few areas that you excel in.

Our Philosophy:

We believe in the “hybrid coaching”™ model. It combines current, effective coaching models, self-discovery and core competencies taken from Life and Business coaching, and we also incorporate more traditional coaching and training methodology to provide information and instruction as well. Our overall philosophy is to improve communications on a holistic, complete level, examining the verbal, the vocal and the visual aspects of communication, what we call “the 3 Vs of communication”™.

Currently there are two choices for obtaining certification:

A)  100% at-home self-study course, with some support coaching from a Mentor Coach (ideal for those already coaching or who have previous related certification/training)

B)  Study for your certification with the constant support of a Mentor Coach (ideal for beginners who want more hands-on guidance in building their practice)

3V Communications Ltd. is an international training company recognized today as one of the leading authorities on Communication Coaching.

3V approved courses have met the strict guidelines for effective coach training, business development, ethics, and professional conduct as per the NCCA – the National Communication Coaching Association of Canada, and as such this 3V Communication Coach certification course is fully accredited by the NCCA.

If interested kindly contact 3V Communications for more information on curriculum cost, benefits of certification and benefits of NCCA designation, or leave a comment here, or email Ric directly.  We will send you a detailed brochure.  Please note this certification course is open to anyone residing and/or working anywhere in the world, and is not limited to Canada.

Here is the updated link to the course on the new 3V Communications website:

https://3vcommunications.ca/content/communication-coach-certification

Thank you!

5 Tips for Finding a New (Communication) Coach

Agreeing on a Coaching Plan

Agreeing on a Coaching Plan

It can be difficult to find the perfect coach for you when you’ve never done it before.  There are many types of coaches, with various backgrounds and different areas of specialization.  Here are some quick tips to get you started on the right foot:

1 – self-assess your needs first.  Be as specific as possible on current challenges, and goals you need to accomplish in order to feel improvement was made.  Don’t just rely on a company’s assessment tools.  They may not have them, or they may be general.  Compare your assessment with theirs!

2 – Google search for a coach or training company using the specific area targeted for improvement, like ‘communication coach’, ‘presentation coach’, ‘executive management coach’, ‘confidence coach’ etc.  See what comes up on the first page and then explore their sites/profiles/articles.  Go deep, beyond the company/coach website.  This is important.

3 – You can choose a company that has a good reputation for providing training but ultimately you will still need to choose an individual coach.  When the company recommends a certain coach for your program, ask for a bio document or their LinkedIn profile so you can see what type of person they are recommending for you.  Next arrange a free consultation with the coach (20 minute phone/Skype call or a longer in-person meeting) to see if there is a ‘fit’ in both comfort and strategy to solve your challenges.

4 – Ensure you and the coach/coaching company have agreed on the top priorities to focus the coaching on, and then get it in writing.  Companies should have some kind of proposal or coaching agreement they can send to you that outlines the coaching focus, program/curriculum specifics, price, location and other policies to be aware of.

5 – Give it a go!  A coach is a partner, not a teacher.  They will help you achieve your goals if you put in equal effort.  If for some reason the coaching is not working out, check your coaching agreement to see if you can modify the program or even switch coaches.  After all, if you are not energized and happy, it will be very difficult to face your challenges and move beyond them.
Good luck!