"I might take the course again next year!" Claudia Wevers, Development Engineer at one of our clients, recently attended the Personal Effectiveness course at ENTER. It is a two-part course of three evenings each, where you learn how to communicate best with different types of people. The course focuses on how to improve some of the basic skills you need every day and how to deal with people who are not always your ‘cup of tea’.
Claudia: "On the course, you learn how to communicate with different types of people. For example, you have people who like to take the lead or people who are more analytical. Then there are extroverts who are often present and introverts who are more quiet. From your own skills and personality, you then learn how to communicate with someone. You also learn, for example, how to deal with someone when he or she is frustrated.”
Taking time
The most important thing Claudia takes away from the course when she has to communicate with someone who is less like her is to first take her time quietly and then find out where the problem lies. "Often a problem is put between two people, while the problem lies somewhere else entirely. The problem is often the cause of frustration in one person and then it is important to talk about the problem and not the frustration. And also very important is to listen very good!" adds Claudia. “Then people feel heard and then you can get on with the problem."
The course also helps if you want to communicate your ideas effectively. "I work with many people and then it can be useful to have some tools to communicate your ideas well. The course also comes in handy when getting and giving feedback," says Claudia. Different personalities are present during the course, allowing you to learn from each other. "For example, your way of approach can be very different from someone else's. And by discussing those ways with each other, you learn from each other. Everyone has to deal with a ‘difficult’ person sometimes, so for the course it doesn't matter if you come from the same field. And suppose you all come from the same field, there is still a lot of difference in the personalities present. I could do the course again next year, because you keep learning from it."