Communication Training for Managers
Our communication training for managers is a live, half-day or full-day workshop for managers and supervisors from one organization. They learn to listen so problems surface early, read tone and body language, and adjust how they talk to each person on their team.
We deliver it onsite anywhere in the country, at our training center, or live virtually. Class size is typically up to 25 people, and virtual sessions can take larger groups.
Each participant takes a Wiley DiSC assessment, a short questionnaire about how they communicate, and uses the results in the session.
What Managers Learn in Communication Training
Managers practice each part of the course on the conversations they have most with their teams: giving direction, correcting someone, delivering feedback, and getting through to the person they find hardest to talk to. Before training, we assess what your organization needs and recommend which topics training will focus on.
- How a manager’s words and habits affect what the team gets done, from how clearly a task gets assigned to how often people come back confused about it.
- Turning routine exchanges, such as a status check or a quick correction, into conversations where the employee leaves knowing the next step and who owns it.
- How trust between a manager and each employee decides whether people raise problems, ask for help, and take correction without getting defensive.
- Building rapport one person at a time, including with the employees a manager finds hardest to connect with.
- How body language and tone of voice change what people hear, and what a team picks up from a manager’s expression in a tense meeting.
- Keeping words and delivery in line, so a correction is heard as a correction and praise is heard as praise.
- Active listening skills a manager uses to hear about problems while they’re still small, such as asking open questions, letting the employee finish, and repeating back what they heard.
- Habits that get in the way of listening, such as planning a reply while the employee is still talking, and techniques to drop them in a one-on-one.
- Recognizing your own communication style and the styles of the people you manage, using each participant’s DiSC results.
- Adjusting how you deliver the same message, so a direct employee and a cautious one both get it.
Active Listening and One-on-One Conversations
Our communication training for managers teaches active listening and applies it to the one-on-one conversations managers have with direct reports: regular check-ins, feedback conversations, and coaching someone through a problem they bring to the manager. Managers practice during the session and take the techniques straight into their next one-on-one.
What managers practice
Each participant identifies the habits that get in the way of their own listening and works on techniques to replace them.
How DiSC helps
The DiSC results show each manager what different styles need from a conversation, so they can adjust the questions they ask and how they respond.
What managers take back
Techniques for their actual on-the-job interactions with their employees, adjusted to the style of each person they manage.
Communication Training Options for Managers and Supervisors
Managers and supervisors can take communication training from us in three ways. Each option includes a DiSC assessment for every participant.
Single course for your group
A half-day or full-day session, onsite, at our training center, or live virtual. Choose it when you have a group of managers to train together and want a needs assessment of your organization to set the session’s emphasis.
As part of Supervisor Training
Communication Skills with DiSC is the second of twelve modules in our Supervisor Training series, which runs from the role of the supervisor through managing performance and conflict. Choose it when your supervisors need more than communication.
A public virtual session
For one or two managers, we run Communication Skills with DiSC as a 3-hour live virtual session with participants from other organizations. See our events calendar.
For a DiSC assessment on its own, for a team or a leadership group, see our DiSC assessment training.
Who Should Attend Communication Training for Managers
Newly promoted managers and supervisors
Managers who now manage former peers. The course covers setting expectations with former peers and correcting someone without losing the relationship. From Peer to Supervisor covers the rest of the move.
Experienced managers with a difficult team dynamic
Such as one employee they can’t reach or a team split into silos or groups.
Managers moving into a bigger role
Managers who will talk with senior leaders more often and lead larger teams. For managers of managers, see the Middle Management Training Series.
What Drives the Cost of Communication Training
Pricing for this course depends on how many managers attend and how you set up the session. Tell us your group size, the format you want, and your timing, and we’ll send a quote with options.
Session length
Half-day or full-day. A full day leaves more time for practice.
Topics and sessions
The course runs as one session, though additional topics or sessions can be added.
Delivery
In-person or live virtual.
Add-ons
A DiSC assessment for each participant is included. Pre- and post-tests are optional extras.
Who Teaches Communication Training for Managers
Tom Ault
Senior Solution Consultant and Trainer. More than 30 years at Diebold in finance, organization development, and Lean Six Sigma; a Master Trainer who facilitates DiSC.
Chris Powers
ERC Trainer and Keynote Speaker. 23 years in the U.S. Navy, including Training Facilitator at the Naval Nuclear Power School, where he was named Instructor of the Year; has worked with more than 500 organizations.
Nada Djordjevich
ERC Trainer. 18 years in training and development after 17 years at Ohio Savings Bank and KeyBank, where she managed a training and development team and supervised a call center team; certified in the DiSC behavioral model.
Damon Linder, PhD
ERC Trainer. More than 15 years training individuals and teams after roles in engineering, sales, project management, and quality in the automotive, medical device, and construction industries; adjunct professor at Tiffin University’s School of Business.
Questions About Communication Training for Managers
Yes. Before training, we assess what your organization needs and recommend where to put the emphasis across the five topic blocks of the course. We can also customize the modules themselves for your managers and the situations they face.
One. The course runs as a single half-day or full-day session. You can add a second session on a related topic, such as conflict management or emotional intelligence.
Either format works. In-person suits a group of typically up to 25 who can meet in one room. Virtual suits larger groups and managers spread across locations. Both formats are live sessions.
A needs assessment before training, a Wiley DiSC assessment for each participant, and the live half-day or full-day session. Pre- and post-tests are available if you want to measure what changed.
One or two managers can join our public virtual session of Communication Skills with DiSC, a 3-hour live session shared with managers from other organizations. See our events calendar.
Communication Skills with DiSC is one of the twelve modules in our Supervisor Training series. This page covers it as a stand-alone course for managers and supervisors. Our Communication Skills training course serves employees at any level, and this course focuses on the conversations managers and supervisors have with the people they manage.
We reply by email with a few questions about your group and the problem you want the training to fix, then send a quote. You can handle everything by email, or we can set up a short call.
Communication Training for Managers at a Glance
| What it is | A live workshop where managers and supervisors practice listening, giving feedback, and the conversations they find hardest. |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Managers and supervisors from one organization: newly promoted managers, experienced managers working through a difficult team dynamic, and managers preparing for a bigger role. |
| Length | Half-day or full-day. One session covers the course, and you can add sessions on related topics. |
| Group size | Typically from a few managers up to 25 in a classroom. Larger groups run virtually. One or two people can join a public virtual session. |
| Delivery | In-person or live virtual. |
| Where | Onsite at your location anywhere in the country, a location you choose, our training center in Beachwood, Ohio, or online. |
| What is included | A needs assessment before training, a Wiley DiSC assessment for each participant, and the live session. |
| How pricing works | Priced per program by group size, session length, topics and sessions, delivery, and add-ons. Request a quote through the form on this page. |
| Who teaches it | ERC trainers Tom Ault, Chris Powers, Nada Djordjevich, and Damon Linder, who worked in banking, manufacturing, engineering, and the U.S. Navy before they trained managers. |
Let’s Plan Communication Training for Your Managers
Tell us about your managers and the conversations they find hardest, and we’ll put a program together.
