Say It Right: Speaking Confidently and Effectively with Cheryl Stenström

Staffing, Training, Mentoring On-line Course November 10 - December 8, 2008 Four weeks. Member: $119.00 Non-Member: $159.00 This fast-paced course focuses on verbal communication. More than any other form, verbal communication is used to get your message across. Everyday, we convey hundreds of messages to patrons, the board and management team, vendors and partners, and co-workers. Learn how to clearly express your ideas, proposals and opinions to avoid misinterpretation and ensure your goals are met. Who Should Participate: This course is designed for both paraprofessionals and professional librarians who are first-time supervisors, or who are looking to move into a supervisory position, especially in rural or small libraries. It is suitable for librarians who are called upon to be 'in charge', new departmental and program managers, circulation supervisors and senior circulation assistants, etc. Also anyone who would like to learn more about communication in a library context is encouraged to register. The Key Benefits For Participants: Participants will gain an understanding of skills and techniques needed for effective communication in a variety of settings. They will learn about communication theory and how they can apply this to work more effectively in a library setting. Throughout the course, participants will learn though active discussion, assess their own strengths and areas for development, and practice skills through short exercises and in small group work. Key Topics to be Explored: Communication theory: sending and receiving messages General principles in practice Communicating with co-workers Communicating with patrons Communicating with board and management Delivering presentations Method of Delivery: Each week, you'll receive an e-mail with the lesson for that week, plus practice exercises that will help you work through the week's sources and reinforce your learning. For additional practical exercises, participants will be placed in small groups in order to participate in three to four teleconference calls over the period of the course. Participants are encouraged to download and install Skype as an inexpensive way to continue practicing their skills in groups. In addition, a Web-based bulletin board will enable you and other participants to ask questions of the instructor and to provide on-line feedback about problems incurred. Each week, participants will be asked to play an active role on the discussion board, whether this be facilitating, questioning, summarizing, or observing. This course is the right one for you if you enjoy interacting on-line and by teleconference with other participants and the instructors to share knowledge and experiences, as participants will be asked to contribute actively to the bulletin board and teleconference discussions by sharing questions and comments. Special Requirements: To provide opportunities for skills practice, each participant will be required to meet virtually in regularly scheduled small groups. As it would be cost prohibitive to use the Education Institute’s traditional teleconference system for each of the small group meetings, Skype, a free Internet phone service, will be used to keep enrollment costs down. Those new to Skype and Internet phones will have the option of participating in a bonus mini-course during the first week of the course. What you need to do: • Ensure you have access to audio input and output for the computer you will be using for the course (preferably a headset with earphones and a microphone -- these can be purchased for about $20 at any computer accessory store) • Download and install Skype (available for free at http://www.skype.com) • Set up an account with a user name and password • Post your Skype username (not your password!) on the class discussion board under the 'Skype usernames' forum • Sign up for a Skype demo session by adding a posting to the 'Demo session' forum in the discussion board. The session will allow participants to practice using Skype Internet phone and will run approximately half an hour. Cheryl Stenström Cheryl Stenström is the CEO of the South Shore Regional Library in Nova Scotia and a Library Consultant. During the past seven years, she's developed and delivered on-line and face-to-face sessions in BC and Nova Scotia on such diverse topics as on-line safety and identity theft, Web development, legal information searching, services for patrons with print disabilities, and public library management. She is currently teaching in BC's on-line Community Library Training Program and San José State University's Executive MLIS on-line program. Since receiving her MLIS in 1997, Cheryl's been a consultant to the Riverside International School Library in Zug, Switzerland and the Atlantic Centre at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, and a government library consultant to the public libraries of BC. Her experience includes providing advice and support to public libraries on management, board and technology issues, reference database training, and services to persons with disabilities. She has also played active roles in the Canadian Association of Public Libraries, the Community Access Program (C@P), and provincial working groups on services to persons with disabilities on both coasts. Developed for the Education Institute by Darlene Fichter’s Northern Lights Internet Solutions, Inc. in Saskatchewan.