FIEO - FIIB Training Programme on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills"

I attended a Training Programme on behalf of my company on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills" (23rd & 24th Feb, '06) organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) in association with Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB) at PHD House, New Delhi.

Some of the topics covered covered during this programme were :

# Some basics and introduction on Effective Business Communication : This was a general session on effective communication - thinngs that most of us know but need to revise at times.

# Public Speaking (Extempore) - This was video recorded and later on there was a playback of Public speaking and feedback was given by the audience. This gave one the opportunity of viewing one's own performance as a viewer and judge oneself. The intersting fact is that the fear of 'Public Speaking' is on the topmost among survey results… even the fear of death ranks after the fear of public speaking.

# Business Etiquette:- This comprised of things like attire, handshake, personal habits, telephone etiquettes and cross cultural dining etiquette.

# Effective Business Communication:- This comprised of verbal and non-verbal communication, including body language, gestures, etc.

# Good Business Writing :- This also included e-mails which is the most important tool for present day business communication.

# Cross Cultural Business Behavoiur:- This topic comprised of things like Deal-focused cultures, moderately deal-focused and relationship-focussed cultures.

# Cross-Cultural Communication:- This was a very intersting topic for people who are required to do business travel. This would specially be useful for people who are less travelled or for people who would be travelling to a certain region / culture for the first time.

# Two short films were shown on effective communication which were quite interesting and illustrative.

# There were a Role play and a Case Study: These were interactive sesions.

FEEDBACK :
1.) How did you find the Training Programme?

I felt that the topics covered were very relevant and useful. However the whole session could have been more useful and interesting by adding more games / excercises so that the whole thing would have been more interactive. At times during the session it felt like theoretical class. Also the venue for this programme was not appropriate. It was a small warm room and many people present.

2.) How has the training programme benefited you?

Some things were a revision of what we know but tend to forget in our day-to-day lives about communication and presentation. We all know that different cultures have different etiquettes and behaviours. But the way a summary was presented for cross-cultural communication and business behaviour and the role-play related to it was interesting. It would benefit while dealing with people of different global cultures. The public speaking exercise and video playback, self-evaluation and audiendce feedback after that was quite helpful in highlighting the errors and mistakes that need to be corrected during public speaking or presentation.