Team Communication Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends 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 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CS-222

Before you join: Participants should have at least one year of workplace experience and regular involvement in team meetings, projects, handovers or shared operational work.

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

Team communication failures rarely result from a lack of information alone. They arise when priorities are unclear, messages are interpreted differently, decisions are undocumented, feedback is avoided, and meetings produce discussion without ownership. The consequences include duplicated work, delayed decisions, unresolved tensions, customer errors and reduced confidence between functions, locations and seniority levels.

This course develops practical team communication techniques for everyday operational work. Participants learn to diagnose communication breakdowns, listen for facts and assumptions, frame concise messages, ask productive questions, give and receive feedback, handle disagreement and run meetings that produce decisions and actions. The course applies recognised methods including the Ladder of Inference, SBI feedback, DESC assertiveness and RACI responsibility mapping. Participants also address communication across remote, hybrid, multicultural and cross-functional teams.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings, realistic cases, group analysis, communication simulations and structured reflection. Scenarios reflect common workplace situations such as handover failures, project delays, service escalations, conflicting stakeholder requests and difficult performance conversations. Each participant builds a Team Communication Improvement Plan with meeting, feedback, escalation and follow-up actions applicable to their current role.

The course suits professionals who coordinate work through others, contribute to projects, supervise colleagues or depend on timely communication between departments. It is particularly relevant where work requires clear handovers, shared decisions, service continuity or coordination between office, field, technical and operational teams.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose team communication failures using the Shannon-Weaver model and Ladder of Inference
  • Structure concise messages using purpose, audience, key message and required action
  • Apply active listening and questioning techniques to clarify facts, concerns and assumptions
  • Give developmental feedback using the SBI model and receive feedback constructively
  • Conduct difficult conversations using the DESC script and interest-based dialogue
  • Facilitate meetings with clear agendas, decision rules, action logs and follow-up
  • Map communication responsibilities and escalation routes using a RACI matrix
  • Produce a Team Communication Improvement Plan for an active workplace challenge

Benefits of attending

For you

  • State requests, priorities and decisions with greater precision
  • Handle disagreement without avoiding issues or escalating tension
  • Give feedback that identifies observable behaviour and agreed next steps
  • Run shorter meetings with documented decisions and ownership
  • Build confidence communicating with senior, technical and cross-functional colleagues

For your organisation

  • Fewer missed handovers, duplicated tasks and unclear accountabilities
  • Faster decisions through defined meeting and escalation practices
  • Earlier resolution of misunderstandings and interpersonal tensions
  • More consistent feedback between managers, peers and project contributors
  • Clearer coordination across functions, locations and hybrid working arrangements

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify where messages, meaning and accountability fail within team communication systems.

  • Shannon-Weaver model distinguishes message transmission, noise, feedback and interpretation
  • Communication breakdowns traced through unclear ownership, timing, channels and assumptions
  • Ladder of Inference separates observable data from conclusions and actions
  • Common team communication patterns: withholding, overloading, bypassing and message distortion
  • Channel selection matched to urgency, complexity, sensitivity and record requirements
  • Communication audit identifies recurring friction points in current team workflows

Participants can frame messages that communicate purpose, context, action and ownership clearly.

  • Purpose-audience-message-action structure shapes concise workplace communication
  • Key messages separated from supporting detail, rationale and background information
  • BLUF format places the bottom line at message opening
  • Requests specify owner, deliverable, deadline, quality criteria and escalation route
  • Plain-language techniques reduce ambiguity, jargon and unnecessary qualification
  • Written updates distinguish facts, risks, decisions, dependencies and required actions

Participants can listen actively and test understanding before responding or acting.

  • Active listening uses attending, paraphrasing, summarising and emotion labelling
  • Open questions uncover context, constraints, interests and alternative options
  • Closed questions confirm facts, commitments, timing and decision authority
  • Clarifying questions test ambiguous terms, assumptions and implied responsibilities
  • Reflective summaries verify shared meaning before decisions or task allocation
  • Advocacy-inquiry balances stating a view with inviting challenge and evidence

Participants can give and receive specific feedback that supports performance and working relationships.

  • SBI feedback links situation, observable behaviour and resulting impact
  • Feedforward converts recurring problems into specific future actions
  • Behavioural language avoids labels, motives, exaggeration and personality judgements
  • Feedback requests define the behaviour, situation and desired perspective
  • Receiving feedback uses listening, clarification, reflection and response commitments
  • Recognition messages identify contribution, impact and standards worth repeating

Participants can address concerns directly while maintaining respect and a focus on workable agreements.

  • DESC script structures difficult conversations around facts, effects and requests
  • Assertive communication distinguishes rights, boundaries and legitimate organisational needs
  • I-statements express concerns without accusation or assumed intent
  • Interest-based dialogue separates positions from underlying needs and constraints
  • Emotional triggers recognised through pause, naming and response selection
  • Conversation preparation defines purpose, evidence, options, limits and follow-up

Participants can recognise conflict patterns and choose communication responses that restore productive work.

  • Thomas-Kilmann modes compare competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising and collaborating
  • Conflict diagnosis distinguishes task, process, relationship and values disputes
  • De-escalation language acknowledges impact while avoiding agreement with inaccurate claims
  • Ground rules protect turn-taking, evidence, respectful challenge and decision rights
  • Repair conversations address missed commitments, misunderstandings and damaged trust
  • Escalation criteria distinguish issues requiring management, mediation or formal procedures

Participants can design and facilitate meetings that result in clear decisions, actions and follow-up.

  • Meeting purpose defines whether participants inform, decide, solve or coordinate
  • Agenda design allocates outcomes, timings, preparation and decision owners
  • Decision rules establish consultation, consent, majority vote or accountable authority
  • Facilitation techniques manage airtime, digressions, disagreement and silent participants
  • Action logs record owners, deliverables, deadlines, dependencies and review dates
  • Minutes distinguish discussion points from decisions, actions and unresolved risks

Participants can establish communication routines that support reliable ownership, handovers and escalation.

  • RACI matrix clarifies responsible, accountable, consulted and informed roles
  • Handover protocols capture status, outstanding risks, priorities and next actions
  • Escalation paths define thresholds, authority, response times and information requirements
  • Communication charters specify channels, response norms, meeting cadence and documentation
  • Status reporting uses red-amber-green criteria with evidence and action requests
  • Decision logs preserve rationale, approvers, assumptions and review triggers

Participants can adapt communication methods for distributed teams, different communication preferences and cultural expectations.

  • Synchronous and asynchronous channels selected by urgency, complexity and time zones
  • Remote meeting protocols establish preparation, participation, decisions and follow-up
  • Written documentation reduces dependency on informal corridor conversations
  • Cultural dimensions affect directness, hierarchy, silence, disagreement and feedback
  • Inclusive communication checks access, language clarity, participation and psychological safety
  • Digital etiquette defines response expectations, availability signals and channel boundaries

Participants can create a practical plan to improve communication around a current team priority.

  • Communication stakeholder map identifies audiences, needs, influence and preferred channels
  • Current-state analysis prioritises failures by impact, frequency and controllability
  • Improvement objectives define target behaviours, measures, owners and review dates
  • Meeting, feedback and handover routines integrated into one communication plan
  • Barriers anticipated through risk actions, sponsor support and reinforcement methods
  • Personal commitments specify first actions, accountability partners and progress checks

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

What you take back to work

  1. Team Communication Diagnostic checklist
  2. Purpose-Audience-Message-Action message template
  3. SBI Feedback Conversation planner
  4. DESC Difficult Conversation script
  5. Meeting Agenda and Action Log template
  6. Team Communication Improvement Plan

Who should attend

  • Team Leaders — coordinate colleagues and need clearer daily communication routines
  • Project Managers — align contributors, decisions, handovers and stakeholder expectations
  • Supervisors — address performance issues and give timely, specific feedback
  • Operations Managers — reduce errors caused by weak shift, case or service handovers
  • Technical Specialists — explain risks, recommendations and requirements to non-specialists
  • Cross-Functional Team Members — work through competing priorities between departments

Skills and tools covered

Active listeningFeedback conversationsMeeting facilitationConflict communicationMessage structuringCommunication planning

Tools and standards

Ladder of Inference, SBI Feedback Model, DESC Script, RACI Matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce communication models, followed by case analysis, paired practice, small-group work and facilitated simulations. Participants work with realistic team situations such as unclear handovers, competing priorities, meeting drift, feedback resistance and stakeholder disagreement. Trainers provide observation criteria and structured feedback against named techniques. Individual application planning links each method to a current workplace communication challenge, while peer discussion tests how approaches should be adapted for different roles, cultures and working arrangements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one year of workplace experience and regular involvement in team meetings, projects, handovers or shared operational work. They should be able to discuss a current communication challenge without disclosing confidential information. No formal qualification, management title, public-speaking experience or prior communication training is required. The course is designed for professionals who already communicate with colleagues and stakeholders but need more reliable methods for clarifying messages, addressing disagreement, giving feedback and coordinating action. Participants do not need to prepare a presentation or bring technical equipment beyond normal note-taking materials.

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 have regular experience communicating with colleagues, contributing to meetings or coordinating work. No prior communication course, management qualification or formal presentation experience is required.

Bring examples of communication challenges you can discuss without sharing confidential material, such as difficult handovers, unclear emails or unproductive meetings. You may also bring a current team process or project communication requirement for your application plan.

It suits team leaders, supervisors, project staff, operations professionals and individual contributors who rely on others to complete work. It is useful for both new and experienced managers, although it is not limited to managers.

This course focuses on two-way workplace communication within teams: listening, feedback, meetings, disagreement, handovers and coordination. Presentation training concentrates more on planning and delivering formal talks to an audience.

Participants leave with reusable templates for messages, feedback conversations, meetings and communication planning. The final module converts a current workplace issue into actions, owners, measures and review dates.

The programme contains ten modules taught in sequence across five training days, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between instructor input, case work, group exercises, simulations, feedback and application 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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