Background:

Whether speaking at an internal briefing to peers, communicating progress to the senior team, giving a talk at a conference or presenting at a tender interview for new business the need to speak with presence and gravitas is crucial for the teams at Willmott Dixon.

What we did:

We provide both open courses for all roles and create bespoke sessions for specific teams. The programme gives participants with knowledge, tools and techniques required to boost their presence, gravitas and impact. We focus on the communication skills that will help participants to deliver a key message, influence key stake holders and achieve their desired outcomes.

We keep sessions limited to just 7 people to allow participants have numerous opportunities to practice over the course of 1 or 2 days. They are challenged with both pre-prepared and ad-hoc and receive constructive, valuable feedback from the facilitator and their peers.

The facilitators for our programme are ex-professional presenters with over 20 years of experience in public speaking.

Outcome and feedback:

Senior Learning manager, Pete Rogers says “This course is invaluable in supporting all our people to build the skills they need to communicate effectively with each other and with our customers. The practical nature of the course and many opportunities to practice the skills means that delegates can apply what they learn quickly. We have seen consistently positive feedback from delegates with the course really helping our people to build their confidence and ability to deliver a message clearly.”

“We have worked with Fiona and the team at Yellow Tree for years and they have been a great partner in building the skills and knowledge of our people in key areas such as communicating, influencing and presenting with impact. Fiona's collaborative approach and desire to deliver the right course for the right people means that the courses are both relevant and useful and have a real impact for our people back in their day-to-day role.”

Participant feedback

“The course provided a safe environment to practice my presentation skills and I am taking away lots of tips but also an understanding of my behaviours to improve on. I also have more confidence in my ability to present. The course facilitator was excellent, and her presentation skills alone showed her experience and how to own a room when presenting. There were plenty of opportunities for us to engage and have dialogue rather than being presented to for the whole course.” Heather Cole

“It was excellent, I learned a lot. Most beneficial was the practice and getting feedback, the section on dealing with nerves and tips to focus on breathing to stop saying ‘erm’. Really enjoyed the session and the facilitation was excellent.” Iona McArdle

“Great course, brilliantly delivered.” A.D