• People don't always listen to me in meetings or at work.

• I have to deliver some bad news to a colleague.

• I want to be a more interactive and effective presenter.

• I wish I could run a more effective and efficient meeting.

• I wish I knew how to ratchet up energy and creativity in our team.

• I wish I could manage students without getting upset.

• I want a more effectively managed classroom.

• I want to have more productive faculty meetings.

• I wish I had more energy at the end of the day teaching.

• I want to have more good days teaching.

Research shows that more than 80% of what we communicate to others is embedded in the context and manner in which words are spoken, and not in the words themselves. Often, we intend one outcome and experience something else entirely for reasons we might not truly understand. Sierra Training Associates is a pioneer and leading training organization in the concepts of nonverbal communicative intelligence. Our one- and two-day seminars or extended practitioner workshops will enhance your ability to:

• communicate the exact message you intend to communicate in a clear and concise manner.

• project credibility with purpose and intent.

• understand the subtle cues of others in dialogue and discussion.

• lessen your anxiety when faced with public speaking, team and group leadership, professional interviews or other situations where precise meaning is desired.

• become more comfortable using communications tactics and strategies to convey your intent, create rapport, read the responses of others and get to your desired outcomes.

• increase your range of implementation of skills to influence a broader diversity of people.

• establish a positive group dynamic.

• be more proactive in "managing" groups when teaching, presenting, or facilitating.

Whether as an informal group leader, trainer or in an executive or management position, the ability to "facilitate" (to "make easy") the process of meetings, training offerings or recurring opportunities to speak to peers or decision-makers, the art of facilitation is essential to success. You will leave with an understanding of the relationship between process and content, options as a facilitator or group leader to guide dialogue or decisions and become versed in ways in which content, context, permission and timing relate to the success of any effort. Learn how to:

• structure openers that energize and surface beliefs and values.

• effectively deal with difficult people and challenging behavior.

• deal with the heckler.

• redirect the person that tries to take you off topic.

• establish a positive and safe adult learning environment.

• incorporate adult learning theory in your sessions.

• apply nonverbal intelligence strategies that support group dynamics.

Using the A-CAMP model (Adult Learning Coaching and Mentoring Project), we can work with individual executives, managers or supervisors (or those aspiring to move into such positions) to hone your nonverbal intelligence, your ability to facilitate group success, to understand how you impact your environment and to enhance self-awareness of the pros and cons of any particular communication style. Services may range from simple "tune-ups" to more comprehensive interventions, observation and formal enhancement of your presence and effectiveness in personal and professional settings. Learn how to create a presence with impact, to convey credibility even when nervous or uncertain, how to conquer fears of speaking to small or large groups and how to respond to others in a resonant manner in any setting. Teams of up to ten persons may also work collaboratively to enhance their effectiveness and the success of team efforts. Our coaching and mentoring models are designed to:

• increase your range of skills development.

• meet or exceed your own expectations and goals.

• increase your nonverbal intelligence.

• strengthen your repertoire of skills and strategies in any setting.

Existing management teams can often benefit from occasional opportunities to enhance their work, move beyond potential obstacles or receive help to remove impediments to their current state into the shared desired future. Our Associates can work with teams of up to 24 persons to:

• identify and assess the current perceptions of teams and those they manage with regard to their ability and willingness to support the direction of the division, agency or organization.

• surface perceived obstacles or issues with which to focus effort.

• develop shared goals and objectives for short- and long-term work by team members.

• engage in commitment planning and sustaining progress made in the team development process.

• create a foundation for continued strategic planning, succession planning or any other effort requiring a consensus effort by the team.

One of the great problems of any organization is the effectiveness of meetings. Whether it is the weekly staff meeting, the quarterly department meeting or the ad hoc meeting amongst members of an executive team, many feel meetings are often counterproductive, a "waste of time" or things to "get through" rather than occasions to sustain progress or success. Even with these pervasive sentiments (often shared by the meeting leaders themselves), we still trudge to meeting after meeting hoping for something to change. The good news is that it can change, and the keys to effective meeting leadership are concepts that can be taught and learned by anyone.

We can work with meeting leader and team members to sustain structures for effective meeting leadership. Once the transition is complete, those attending your meetings will look forward to coming (really), feel the meetings are an essential part of the organization's success and actively participate in turning intent into reality. Learn:

• how to have meetings that are focused and deliberate in their design.

• specific meeting structures and their uses.

• how to keep people on topic.

• how not to waste time and resources during a meeting.

• how to facilitate difficult topics.

• how to separate difficult issues from people.

• how to talk about the difficult-to-talk-about in your organization.

One of the greatest challenges in the modern school or in professional or business settings is the capacity to express oneself clearly when speaking or in writing. Without applying a conscious structure to one's speech—or teachable protocols to writing for any purpose—we may tend to repeat errors time and again. Sierra Training Associates provides individual, small group and organizational training aimed specifically at communicating more effectively in both your writing and in settings where you desire to communicate with the spoken word.

Using a combination of techniques incorporating a blend of visual and written communications strategies, you can match the increase in the proficiency of your writing as a companion to increased effectiveness in verbal and non-verbal intelligence. Services can range from personalized coaching to create and edit individual writing efforts to the implementation of written skills training across an entire team. This is not "English 101," but an intervention that will make persuasive writing more impactful, professional writing more credible and writing for any purpose received by those who might read it in a manner intended by the writer.

A core offering of Sierra Training Associates is working with those charged with presenting training in any organization. Using leading edge planning and delivery models, we can work with trainers to:

• assess options for training interventions.

• design and develop customized training.

• implement training for groups of any size.

• conduct assessment during and after the training process.

Options for this training may focus on any aspect of course planning and execution, including rubric-based assessment, sustaining learning beyond the formal training setting and presenting training to transfer and transform those in attendance.

Current research indicates that what a teacher does in the classroom significantly influences learning, rapport, and the classroom environment. In Marzano's Classroom Management That Works (2003), three factors have the greatest influence on student learning:

• The teacher's content expertise

• The teacher's skill at instructional design and delivery

• The teacher's skill in classroom management

Our seminars focus on the third of these elements, the realm of classroom management. As we consider the in-the-moment management of a class, we will explore the skills and strategies grounded in nonverbal intelligence as a means to enhancing effectiveness and replicating those "great days" we all have when teaching.

Our custom designed seminars and workshops on classroom management draw on current research and incorporate your experience to create an interactive and practical experience filled with useful skills. Specifically, participants will leave with practical classroom management skills to:

• increase teaching time spent on content.

• establish and maintain a positive classroom rapport.

• deal with disruptive behavior.

• effectively work with diverse groups of students.

• improve student achievement.