High-Impact Communication Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Managers and Team Leaders, Project Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CS-106

Before you join: Participants should have regular workplace communication responsibilities, such as attending meetings, writing emails or reports, briefing colleagues, presenting updates or contributing to projects.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Professionals often have the facts but fail to secure a decision, align a team or prevent avoidable rework. A technical update can bury the recommendation; a meeting can end without ownership; a difficult conversation can harden positions. High-impact communication means making purpose, evidence, tone and requested action clear for a particular audience. It matters when briefing executives, coordinating programmes, explaining risk, handling service failures or gaining support for change.

This five-day course builds the communication discipline needed to plan messages, listen for interests and concerns, speak with clarity, write for action and influence decisions ethically. Participants use stakeholder mapping, message maps, the Pyramid Principle, active listening, the Ladder of Inference, SBI feedback and DESC conversations. They learn to structure executive briefings, make technical content understandable, manage questions, handle objections and document decisions and actions clearly.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with realistic cases, group work, simulations and individual application planning. Cases reflect common workplace situations such as a delayed project, a risk escalation, a service complaint, a budget request and a cross-functional disagreement. Participants receive feedback on message structure, language, delivery and stakeholder response. They leave with a personal communication toolkit containing reusable templates, checklists and a 30-day workplace communication plan. The course is available as instructor-led classroom training in 50+ cities or live online. Training runs for five days, 08:30-16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day, and includes a certificate of completion.

The course suits professionals who already communicate regularly and need greater consistency when stakes, audiences or resistance increase. It is particularly relevant for managers, specialists and project staff who must turn information into decisions and coordinated action.

What you will be able to do

  • Design audience-centred message maps for briefings, meetings, emails and presentations
  • Structure executive communications using the Pyramid Principle and SCQA framework
  • Apply active listening and Ladder of Inference techniques to test assumptions
  • Deliver clear verbal messages using signposting, framing, pauses and response bridges
  • Draft reader-first emails, action registers and decision-focused meeting minutes
  • Present recommendations, evidence and trade-offs to gain informed stakeholder decisions
  • Conduct difficult conversations using SBI feedback, DESC scripts and interest-based dialogue
  • Produce a 30-day communication plan for a current workplace priority

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence when briefing senior stakeholders and responding to challenge
  • Clearer written messages that secure decisions, ownership and deadlines
  • Improved ability to explain technical or complex issues in plain language
  • More constructive feedback and difficult conversations with colleagues
  • A practical communication plan for immediate workplace use

For your organisation

  • Faster decisions through clearer recommendations, options and requested actions
  • Fewer misunderstandings in project updates, handovers and cross-functional work
  • Better quality meeting outputs with recorded owners, dates and dependencies
  • Earlier resolution of performance, service and stakeholder concerns
  • More consistent communication standards across managers and specialist teams

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can plan a communication around audience needs, a clear purpose and a defined action.

  • Communication outcomes defined through audience, decision, action and relationship requirements
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interest, information needs and likely objections
  • Audience personas distinguish decision-makers, technical specialists, sponsors and affected colleagues
  • Message maps connect central point, supporting evidence and requested action
  • Channel selection weighs urgency, sensitivity, permanence, reach and interaction needs
  • Communication contracts establish purpose, roles, timing, decision rights and follow-up

Participants can structure concise messages that present recommendations and supporting logic in the right order.

  • Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle orders governing thought, arguments and evidence
  • SCQA framing clarifies situation, complication, question and answer before drafting
  • Signposting phrases mark transitions, priorities, caveats and decisions for listeners
  • Executive summaries state recommendation, rationale, implications and next required action
  • BLUF openings present the bottom line before supporting detail
  • Message architecture adapts depth for briefings, reports, emails and presentations

Participants can listen actively, question precisely and separate evidence from assumption.

  • Active listening uses attending, paraphrasing, summarising and purposeful silence
  • Open, probing and closed questions obtain facts, meanings and commitments
  • Ladder of Inference separates observable data from assumptions and conclusions
  • Reflective responses test understanding without agreeing to another person's interpretation
  • Conversational turn-taking manages interruptions, airtime, pauses and topic changes
  • Listening logs distinguish stated positions, underlying interests and unresolved concerns

Participants can communicate key points clearly and respond directly in demanding conversations.

  • Plain-language choices replace jargon, abstractions, hedging and unnecessary qualification
  • Message framing links proposals to risk, cost, service and strategic priorities
  • Rule of three groups key points for recall and emphasis
  • Concrete examples turn technical information into decisions stakeholders can understand
  • Strategic pauses give listeners time to process numbers, implications and choices
  • Response bridges acknowledge questions, answer directly and return to key messages

Participants can align voice, body language and visual presence with their intended message.

  • Vocal pace, pitch, volume and emphasis reinforce intended meaning
  • Posture, gesture and facial expression align with the stated message
  • Eye-contact patterns include individuals without fixing attention on one person
  • Breathing and pause control reduce rushing during high-stakes communication
  • Room position and visual attention support authority without dominating discussion
  • Video-call framing, lighting and camera focus improve remote presence

Participants can write business messages that readers can scan, understand and act upon.

  • Reader-first email structure places purpose, decision and deadline in opening lines
  • Subject lines signal action, topic and priority without false urgency
  • Plain English drafting uses active verbs, short sentences and concrete nouns
  • Headings, bullets and white space make scanning faster and safer
  • Action registers assign owners, dates, dependencies and escalation triggers
  • Editing passes check accuracy, tone, logic, formatting and requested action

Participants can present a recommendation clearly, explain evidence and handle questions constructively.

  • Presentation objectives specify audience change, decision or action by session close
  • Storyboarding sequences opening, evidence, objections, recommendation and close
  • Slide titles state conclusions rather than merely naming subjects
  • Data commentary explains comparison, implication, uncertainty and decision required
  • Question handling uses acknowledge, clarify, answer and check-back sequence
  • Closing summaries restate commitments, owners, dates and next communication channel

Participants can address sensitive issues while preserving clarity, respect and accountability.

  • DESC script structures difficult conversations around description, effect, specification and consequence
  • SBI feedback names situation, behaviour and impact without attributing intent
  • Interest-based dialogue separates positions from needs, options and objective criteria
  • De-escalation language recognises emotion while keeping discussion on observable facts
  • Boundary statements define acceptable conduct, process and consequences clearly
  • Repair conversations acknowledge breakdowns, clarify expectations and agree practical next steps

Participants can build credible influence plans that address stakeholder interests and objections.

  • Influence plans match stakeholder interests, authority, concerns and preferred evidence
  • Ethos, logos and pathos balance credibility, reasoning and appropriate emotional appeal
  • Objection mapping prepares concise responses to cost, risk, timing and feasibility
  • Reciprocity, consistency and social proof used ethically in stakeholder requests
  • Recommendation briefings compare options, criteria, trade-offs and preferred decisions
  • Commitment questions convert general support into named actions and dates

Participants can run focused discussions, record decisions and apply course methods to current work.

  • Meeting charters define purpose, attendees, decisions, inputs and time limits
  • Agenda design allocates discussion time according to decision importance
  • Facilitation prompts invite contribution, surface disagreement and prevent topic drift
  • Decision logs record choice, rationale, owner, due date and dependencies
  • Action-focused minutes distinguish decisions, actions, issues and information items
  • Thirty-day communication plan schedules one workplace message, briefing and feedback conversation

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Audience and stakeholder mapping template
  2. Message map and Pyramid Principle planner
  3. Reader-first email and action-register templates
  4. Presentation storyboarding checklist
  5. SBI feedback and DESC conversation scripts
  6. Thirty-day workplace communication plan

Who should attend

  • Managers and Team Leaders — need clear direction, feedback and accountability conversations
  • Project Managers — must align sponsors, delivery teams and external stakeholders
  • Business Analysts — need to translate requirements and evidence into decisions
  • Technical Specialists — must explain complex findings to non-specialist audiences
  • Client Relationship Managers — need to handle expectations, objections and service issues
  • Policy and Programme Officers — must gain support for recommendations and implementation actions

Skills and tools covered

Message structuringActive listeningExecutive briefingsBusiness writingDifficult conversationsStakeholder influence

Tools and standards

Pyramid Principle, Ladder of Inference, SBI Feedback Model, DESC Script

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, group exercises, simulations and structured reflection. Participants analyse stakeholder situations, build messages, practise executive briefings, respond to objections and conduct feedback conversations. Written communication is reviewed for purpose, structure, tone and action clarity. Simulations provide practice in meetings, presentations and difficult discussions, with instructor and peer feedback. Individual application planning connects the methods to a live workplace communication priority.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have regular workplace communication responsibilities, such as attending meetings, writing emails or reports, briefing colleagues, presenting updates or contributing to projects. They should be comfortable discussing their own work situations and receiving constructive feedback. No formal communication qualification is required. The course does not assume public-speaking experience, management authority, advanced writing ability or prior knowledge of named communication frameworks. Participants will gain most value by bringing an active communication challenge, such as an upcoming briefing, difficult conversation or stakeholder decision.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should already communicate regularly at work through meetings, emails, briefings or project activity. No formal qualification, management role or public-speaking background is required.

Bring a current communication challenge, such as a forthcoming presentation, difficult conversation, project update or decision request. You may also bring a non-confidential example of an email, report or slide deck for personal reference.

It suits managers, project professionals, analysts, technical specialists, relationship managers and programme staff. It is designed for people who need stronger results from everyday workplace communication.

Presentation and writing are both included, but this course addresses the full communication process: audience analysis, listening, meetings, feedback, influence and difficult conversations. It is suited to participants whose work requires communication through multiple channels.

Participants work with live workplace situations and create reusable message, meeting and conversation tools. The final application plan identifies practical actions for the next 30 days.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group activities, simulations, feedback and individual planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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