Catalog of Seminars

105 South Houser Street Muscatine, Iowa 52761-6161 Telephone: 410-703-2067 Fax: 877-673-2441 Email: egibbs@myinvisusdirect.com

www.EtienneAGibbs.blogspot.com The following seminars are available to you and your organization. They may be customized into lectures and workshops, depending upon your needs or the needs of your organization. If you have a topic in mind and do not find it in this catalog, just let us know. We will be more than happy to customize one for you.

Following our motto, "working together to help you maximize your potential", we will conduct extensive consultations with you and your employees to evaluate existing behavioral problems within your organization. Once these problems have been isolated, we will customize and conduct management training, employee assistance, and customer or employee incentive programs, as needed. They will be designed to overcome weakened areas while offering new approaches of productivity.

1. Assertiveness Training for Employees Employees who attend this seminar will learn how to communicate effectively with others, make better decisions, and realize greater success in everything you attempt to do. Learn techniques that will improve your ability to deal with confrontations, get superiors and peers to recognize your leadership potential, and keep the work output of the organization at its peak.

2. Becoming a Productive Manager New and prospective managers will learn behavioral skills and techniques that will help you become more productive in what you do and say. Become that productive manager that you desire to be by learning how to develop your self-confidence; delegate effectively; solve and prevent staff conflicts; encourage your employees to become productive; and get more done in less time and with fewer headaches.

3. Closing the Sale Whether you are a novice or experienced salesperson, you will learn something new and productive. You'll learn to develop your skills so that you can zero in on precisely what makes your prospects want to buy, and what makes them want to buy from you again and again. By examining your selling style and using role-play situations, you'll learn how to put your prospects at ease and how to create an effective selling plan.

4. Coaching Problem Employees Every supervisor is blessed with at least one troublesome, yet productive, employee.

These employees, by displaying their personal problems at the workplace, are actually asking for your guidance and support. Instead of becoming angry and frustrated with them, choose from a range of creative options in this seminar. Become their coach by taking time to understand them and their misconduct, communicate with them in terms that let them know that you understand and want to help them, and develop a systematic approach that uses three active listening techniques.

5. Conducting Results-Oriented Interviews Interviews that do not produce desired results are a waste of everyone's time. Improve your interviewing skills in this seminar by learning how to listen actively and critically; develop a supportive atmosphere; monitor your distracting emotions; and develop all of the characteristics of an effective interviewer.

6. Controlling Your Time and Projects Time not used well is time wasted, and time wasted is money wasted. In this seminar, learn the principles of time and project management; the reasons people procrastinate; your procrastination style; and the 40-plus common time-wasters that exist in most organizations. In the final phase of this seminar, you will develop your own management plan to help you manage your time and projects, along with those of your employees.

7. Counseling and Communicating with Employees Supervisors need to appraise employees' performance, deal with difficult employees, take disciplinary action, and cope with morale problems. Learn the skills necessary to help you relate to employees in a firm and understanding manner. Become comfortable and competent in carrying out your duties.

8. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving for Support Staff Support staff who take the initiative, or those who are given the opportunity to make decisions, improve their reputation and value to their boss, their customers, and their organization. In this seminar, you'll learn to distinguish between fact and inference when making a decision; apply a systematic approach to problem-solving; and make and use decision logic tables.

9. Developing an Effective Speaking Style Fear of the unknown is the major culprit that prevents us from being successful in selling our ideas to our boss, making a sales presentation, facing the news media, or speaking in public. Learn to distinguish between content-oriented and emotions-oriented materials; identify visual and auditory distractions; prepare adequate and timely information; adapt your presentation to your personality; and value the needs of your audience. You will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned via impromptu presentations. A video camera and monitor will be used to help you reinforce the skills you will use upon completion of this course. Evaluations by the class will be conducted at the end of the seminar.

10. Developing a Wellness Program Hospitals and insurance companies have long warned that the cost of medical care has vastly outweighed the cost of preventing injuries, accidents, and illnesses. In this innovative seminar, you'll take a look at your histories of injuries, accidents, and illnesses and their causes; and the role humor, eustress, exercise, balanced diets, and positive thinking play in the prevention of injuries, accidents, and illnesses. You will walk away after having developed individual and collective organizational wellness plans.

11. Developing Effective Leadership Designed for managers and executives at all levels, this seminar will teach you how to identify your strongest leadership ability and how to select from a range of styles to use in different situations with different people. Focus will be on blending your self-image and approach with a participatory management style.

12. Developing Positive Relationships No relationship will be fruitful unless we are willing to take the time and make the effort to build a positive relationship with others. Learn how agape allows others to become more capable and responsible and how it permits us to make choices instead of giving orders. Learn the four games people are willing to play when their perception of their relationship is distorted. This seminar concludes by teaching you how to correct this distortion and how to prevent others from making the same mistake.

13. Developing Your Career Ladder Learn to develop and use your abilities, skills, and knowledge (ASK) that lead to job satisfaction and benefits to your job. You will prepare your ASK in oral and written form; analyze your career motivation; apply coping skills to today's working environment; explore options for growth; and implement a career action plan.

14. Developing Your Peak Performance By changing your eating, speaking, thinking, and working habits, you can improve your peak performance. You will learn how to do this and more! At the completion of the seminar, you will walk away feeling more confident about maximizing your potential; having the knowledge and skills to improve your relationships at home and at work; handling tough times and tough people; developing a positive attitude; and projecting a strong, determined level of self-discipline.

15. Extending Total Quality Management (TQM) to Staff and Customers As a new or experienced manager or supervisor, you will be kept busy while learning new and effective ways to organize your work and produce quality results through your

staff and for your customers. This seminar will offer you useful techniques and suggestions for directing, controlling, and appraising a job. Also, you will learn how to develop objectives and how to use them to measure and evaluate employee performance.

16. Giving Employees Constructive Feedback Supervisors and managers are placed in a position where they have to make judgments about the performance of their employees. But how do they give them feedback that is fair and systematic? Constructive feedback using the performance appraisal format is a vital tool for supervisors and managers to develop. In this seminar, you will learn just that. You will learn how to provide a permanent written record of your employees' strong and weak points; identify those who qualify for more training; pinpoint those who may need reassignment; and provide an incentive for their improved performance.

17. Improving Your Customer Service Department Is your organization one in which the Customer Service Department receives endless amounts of complaints? Complaints are your customers' way to give you a second chance to meet their needs. This customized seminar will teach you how to listen to your customers so you and your fellow employees can meet their needs the first time, every time. Learn the importance of having open communication with your customers and will develop strategies to help you achieve that goal. The seminar is customized to meet the needs of your organization and will be presented at your work site. It will conclude with volunteers reporting about their "I'll never forget it" experiences.

18. Improving Employee Performance Employee performance needs to be measured in order to ensure the effectiveness of the organization. Performance problems must be solved in a productive way by supervisors, managers, and employees. Learn how to identify the criteria and standards required for the job; analyze and resolve the seven sources of conflicts; use the task of delegating effectively; and develop a systematic approach.

19. Improving Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace This seminar is designed to help you to develop those skills necessary to improve relationships at work, whether you are an employer or new employee. Using lectures, group discussions, role play situations, and skill-building exercises, learn to give and receive feedback more effectively; apply simple rules for getting information; make and refuse requests with greater self-confidence; and achieve major goals.

20. Improving the Executive's Awareness Executives will find out in this seminar what it is like to be the boss. The focus of this seminar is on helping you develop the use of open communication; become aware of its impact on others; learn more about the consequences of three behavioral patterns; and apply this knowledge more effectively when dealing with others. Your fellow attendees will provide you with take-home written feedback.

21. Improving Your Communications with the Public Wouldn't it be impressive if all your messages to your public were customer-friendly and helpful? In this seminar, you'll learn to do just that.

Focusing on your common problems and experiences, learn to deal more effectively with questions and complaints; use reassuring techniques when dealing with hostile visitors or irate callers; improve your listening skills; respond appropriately to the verbal and nonverbal elements of your customers' communication; and respond zealously to all problems and complaints.

22. Improving Your Leadership Potential as a Woman Learn how to maximize your potential with on-the-job success while being kept actively involved with skill-building activities. During this seminar, learn how to identify your real and potential roadblocks; apply the basic principles of assertiveness; become the leader you want to be; identify your strengths and weaknesses; and capitalize on precise communication skills.

23. Keeping Professionalism in the Workplace What makes some people function in a professional manner at work while others do not? Learn to understand why people do what they do and what you can do to keep professionalism in the workplace. Gain insight into the role stress plays in distorting the performance of normally productive employees and what you can do to prevent it.

24. Listening: A Customer-Focused Skill Recognize and use the basics of effective listening skills in your daily activities. Make a significant impact on your customer base by systematically changing your poor listening habits into productive and permanent ones. Improve your customer relations by improving your listening skills.

25. Living and Working Under Adverse Conditions In this seminar, you will identify adverse conditions that are unique to your situation; review creative options; and create your own working plan that will help you to overcome obstacles, maximize your health options, and minimize fatal ones.

26. Managing the Art of Managing This seminar addresses your concerns about managing employees, projects, communication, and yourself. You will learn how to become more productive; help others to become so; work better with peers and upper management; deal successfully with the people and projects that cause problems for your organization; and achieve meaningful goals for yourself and for your organization.

27. Managing Your Human Resources: A Course for Managers and Trainers In this seminar personnel managers and trainers will be trained on how to present behavior-oriented material to managers and supervisors in their organizations. Learn how to develop the "I want to . . ." attitude of your employees; how to minimize their misconduct; and how to enhance the motivational climate while minimizing the barriers to effective communication.

28. Managing Your Job as a Professional Secretary The professional secretary is the spindle around whom the organization revolves. He or she must be able to perform many tasks that were not originally considered part of a secretary's job. Modern secretaries need to possess effective communication skills in order to prevent or terminate workplace conflicts. To do so effectively and professionally, the professional secretary needs to possess an understanding of personality types and human behavior.

29. Managing Stress in the Workplace Stressful work environments present complications that may lead to a wide range of psychosomatic illnesses, some of which become fatal. As a result, some organizations suffer the Burnout Syndrome, resulting in high turnover and sick leave rates. Prevent yourself from becoming the next burnout victim from your organization. Learn to determine the causes of your stress; recognize your body's responses; identify the early warning signs in yourself and in others; and use techniques that effectively prevent the Burnout Syndrome.

30. Managing the Workplace Effectively Managing the workplace is fast becoming a shared effort between the boss, the supervisor, and the key members of his staff. It is becoming increasingly important for these lead employees to be aware of the management techniques that can be helpful in managing people, projects, and programs. Identify the manager's responsibilities and roles, analyze tasks, delegate assignments, communicate clearly, and manage time effectively.

31. Maximizing Your Creative Thinking Potential In this fun-filled seminar using a hands-on approach, you will analyze the TFA Formula for Behavior, look at new and different ways of approaching a given situation, analyze the role enthusiasm plays in developing your self-confidence and thinking process, and expand your problem-solving potential using pencil-and-paper exercises.

32. Maximizing Your Potential This generic seminar is often customized to meet the needs of the requesting organization and is usually presented at a site of their choice. A motivational seminar, it focuses on helping employees at all levels build your self-esteem, self-development, self-confidence, and creative problem solving skills. It uses motivational acronyms and affirmations to help you fortify their strengths.

Maximizing your potential ... is the motto around which our lectures, newspaper columns, media appearances, seminars, books, and workshops are customized.

33. Minimizing Conflicts in the Workplace Conflicts develop between people when their goals and needs are not met. Learn how to reach your goals with the help of others while at the same time, helping them to reach theirs; use ten leadership skills; identify your needs and express them to others in a manner that they can understand the first time; verbalize effectively so that the meaning behind your message is understood immediately; and maximize the use of your working environment.

34. Projecting a Positive Image Learn how to make your personal characteristics a positive source of reinforcement of your responsibilities and position. A video camera and monitor will be used so that you can see yourself as others see you. Evaluation by your fellow-attendees will be conducted at the end of the seminar.

35. Putting the Customer First This double seminar covers: Providing Exceptional Customer Service and Developing Professional Telephone Skills. On the first day, learn how to build rapport with your walk-in customers; use five do's while avoiding five don'ts; and draw on three sources to help you serve your customers better.

On the second day learn how to identify the objectives and objections of your callers; increase your effectiveness; convert your telephone into a powerful service tool; gain the trust and loyalty of callers; and deal with callers who are angry and abusive.

In the latter half of each session you will have the chance to be videotaped while role playing situations commonly found on the job; to receive verbal and written feedback from your peers; to network with them; and to review your videotaped vignette.

36. Realizing a High-Performance Team Using creative problem-solving, task forces, "what if" scenarios, conflict management, and other situations where the application of the team concept will lead to mutually acceptable, innovative, and quality outcomes, employees will learn to use team-building blocks; evaluate their team by its characteristics; and gain favorable results through participation.

37. Reviewing Performance with Employees Designed to provide you with the necessary interpersonal skills needed in the performance appraisal process, this seminar is organized to focus on the major milestones in the performance appraisal cycle of goal-setting, mid-cycle review, and final evaluation.

38. Succeeding at the Selection Interview When you have a list of candidates to interview, make your time and efforts pay off by preparing and conducting interviews that will lead to the selection of the best candidates. By focusing on the purpose of the employment interviews, you will learn which communication techniques to use and which ones to avoid, to distinguish between the candidates' attitudes and their motivation ("I want to . . ." versus "I have to ..."), and to use the three stages of interviewing: the preparation, the interview, and the evaluation.

39. Training the Trainer With a focus on helping new and inexperienced trainers become results-oriented, this seminar is customized to meet the needs of your organization. Learn how to conduct conferences, classes; seminars, and workshops; manage group activities; use audio-

visual support; develop a productive training design; and use available resources in a timely fashion.

40. Venting Anger and Hostility Effectively It is difficult, if not impossible, to deal effectively with angry or hostile customers or coworkers without using a deliberate, well thought-out approach. This seminar is designed to offer you rational, step-by-step strategies to help you cut through those intense emotions so that you can achieve an effective resolution. Learn when to be firm and when to be flexible in responding to disagreement, to recognize anger's contagious side, to control your own tendencies, and to take proper action to prevent anger and its consequences from spreading.

41. Working with Difficult Employees Designed for employees at all levels, this seminar will teach you how to develop peace and harmony in your working relationships. Learn what difficult employees do, fear, feel, think, and want. Focusing on you as the controlling element, you will learn how to bring out the best in people, cope when you feel emotionally flooded, identify your hot button so that you can keep others from pushing it, and deal with people who don't play by the rules.

42. Writing Effective Letters, Memos, and Reports, Parts I and II Documents that are indiscriminately written will not yield the desired results. Instead, they may confuse, frustrate, and even unwittingly anger the reader. To help you improve the response of your readers, this two-part seminar will teach you how to develop the WRITE and WRITER approaches to writing; diagnose the problems in your documents; and compose documents so that they will result in desired and prompt reader action.

Part Two will continue in similar fashion, picking up where Part One left off. Three published letters from a local trade magazine will be compared and evaluated. You are encouraged to bring correspondence from your organization that you would like to have evaluated. You will be asked to black out all identifying data.

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