EPIC Communication

Creating Engagement, Commitment

& 'Buy In' through Empathy 

 

 

 

Course Type - Face-to-face Workshop (open or in-house)

Course Duration - 1 day (7.5 hours)

Led by - Neil Lewis

Pre-requisites - Completion of The EPIC Programme

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Communications and Engagement teams have such a tough job. Getting messages across to many people, thinking about timing, positioning, language, branding, predicting FAQs, not to mention making sure that every bit of info that's needed is considered. It's a massive task. And it's not just down to one team - often there are cascades that come from Comms teams, but rely on other voices, such as leaders, to pass the messages on. Most of the time, the message is the message is the message, but the variable is HOW it's delivered. And this course will help you deliver those messages - even the tough ones - in ways that get you commitment and buy-in.

 

Why attend a course like this?

 

Here's the thing. Disengaged or uninvolved individuals that are affected by the message are more likely to resist it. In resistance, things can move slower, but worse, there can be sabotage. Putting even the most positive 'spin' on a message can inadvertently demonstrate that we don't understand the audiences perspective at all. Previous attendees of this course have found that it's given them skills to write compelling stories, stories that put the audience at the heart of the story, rather than the story tellers. The course has prompted them to consider all impacts, and to be brave enough to acknowledge the negative impacts as well as the positive. This in turn has meant that messages have been understood more. Previous attendees have also attested to how useful it is to work on audience perspective taking, which has completely changed the way that craft messages. Comms and engagement has become less about what people want to say, and more about what we want or need people to hear. This has meant quicker response to change, increased levels of commitment and buy-in, which has ultimately led to people working really hard to prove things right, rather than working really hard to prove things wrong. Furthermore, if they've been INVOLVED in the change, they automatically share accountability, and as such care about an overall positive outcome.

 

What’s the course content?

 

The 1-day intensive face-to-face programme is a deep-dive into the following key communication skills:

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• Who's the Hero? - The audience should always be the hero of your story in order to care about it, and in order to know your hero, you need to know your audience, and know them in context to the message you need to send.

• The Hero's Input - How much of the hero's own story have they had input into? How much of it have THEY told? Their involvement is key, otherwise they're not the hero at all - the storyteller is.

• The Hero's Journey - Once you know who the hero is and you know their story, it's time to think about the hero's journey. Where are they now? Where do they need to be? How will they get there? And WHY? 

• The Call to Action - How do we seal the deal? Incentives? Gifts? How do we motivate people to get on board? Surprisingly, the answer isn't in what we GIVE - it's in what we ASK.

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This course is about letting go of the pressure of being a great storyteller, and focusing on creating and telling a great story - a story that the listener cares about, understands and can relate to personally. And most importantly, a story that they themselves have had a hand in writing. Get the story right and telling it will be a piece of cake.

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The event is highly interactive and experiential. You’ll be encouraged to reflect personally in a safe environment (no judgement, remember!), as well as explore your own personal case study of a time when communication was challenging for you. You’ll walk away with knowledge, skills and your own personal action plan for developing and measuring habitual empathic communication every day, as well as comprehensive support following the programme through a private online community and lifetime membership to our exclusive online resource area, ‘My Empathy Coach’.

 

What does it cost?

 

There is a personal investment of £400 + VAT to attend the 1-day course and all of the on-going support provided. We can also arrange in-house courses for teams and organisations, which can often be more cost effective if you have a number of people wishing to attend.

 

For a no-obligation chat, please contact us!

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