467 Communication courses in Sheffield

Developing the high performing team takes time and effort. But above all, it requires an understanding of the dynamics of high performing teams. This programme helps managers and leaders understand what high performing teams do and how they do it. It focuses on enabling managers to see their teams from different perspectives, allowing them to adapt their styles to maximise team outputs. A core theme is the need for managers of teams to 'hold up the mirror' to themselves and to see themselves as a leader of people, to reflect on how others see them and to modify their style accordingly. This programme will help managers / team leaders: Analyse the constituents of a 'high performing' team Apply essential influencing techniques Use a range of communication techniques to support effective teamwork Create and articulate team vision Generate common values Assess team effectiveness and take/recommend the appropriate actions Make more efficient use of team time Understand and agree on techniques to manage conflict Define and implement team meeting protocols that will facilitate team effectiveness Use the Prime Focus model to create the environment and framework for a high performing team Draft your team strategy to take them to the next level Day 1 1 Welcome and introduction Participants are welcomed to the programme and invited to share their personal objectives and people challenges Participants are given an action plan template to complete throughout the workshop 2 Your team The concept of 'positive intention' The difference between a team and a high performing team Assess your team effectiveness What is your 'interference'? 3 The team environment Setting the scene Building rapport Active listening Team goals and role profiling 4 Your style Tuckman model of team stages - how do you manage each stage? Team standards and goals Your team vision 5 Effective team meetings Influencing in team meetings How to make them interesting and relevant The pure role of the chair Day 2 1 Effective communication techniques Giving and receiving feedback Your communication style How to adapt, pace and lead to build rapport The Mehrabian theory of communication 2 How to manage conflict What is conflict? What is your default conflict approach? Tools and tips for managing conflict Practice sessions 3 Team skills Undertake a team skills analysis Types of team member Motivating team members Reframing situations 4 Setting your strategy Seeing the bigger picture The Prime Focus Model Your strategy for success Articulating your strategy Action plans revisited

This workshop will provide participants with the insight and skills to be more effective business networkers, face-to-face and online. The approach taken is to build on the strengths people already have and their successes. It is easier to develop what you already have than to try and develop skills that do not come easily. Being yourself is the most effective tool for business networking and building relationships. This course will help those attending: Appreciate the importance of networking, and different forms of networking Understand the dynamics of communication that are specific to networking Become more confident and assured when 'working' a room Improve their influencing skills, especially with people who are experts and in positions of authority 'Sell' themselves and promote their company Identify and manage their profiles using online social networking sites Use effective follow-up to maintain active contacts and connections Select the correct networking groups, clubs and events Create their own personal network 1 The importance, and different types, of networking Personal objectives and introductions Test networking session Examples of the importance, purpose and format of various types of networking, and benefits you can expect 2 How to work a room - preparation and strategy Three things to know before you attend any event Non-verbal communication and art of rapport Breaking the ice - worked examples with practical demonstration 3 Communication dynamics in networking - the power of the listening networker Why it is better to listen than talk Effective questioning and active listening Creating a natural and engaging conversation, 1-2-1 and in a larger group 4 Assumptions when networking How to use the 'instant judgement' of others to your advantage What assumptions are you making? How to keep an open mind 5 Business networking etiquette Meeting and greeting at a business networking event - approaching complete strangers and introducing yourself Socialising: joining and leaving groups easily Making a good first impression in 30 seconds The use of status when networking 6 Making connections Asking for cards, contact details and referrals Gaining a follow-up commitment Some tips and tricks 7 Business networking rehearsals Practice sessions 8 Personal business networking online Overview of different types of networking sites - there is a lot more out there than just Facebook! Examples of creating an effective profile Using social networking effectively - case studies and application 'Advanced' applications - blogs, articles, twitter, feeds, etc. Online demonstration and examples 9 Building relationships - follow-up and follow-through Maintaining a good database Developing a contact strategy with different types and levels of contact How to analyse your contact base

Video conferencing over IP course description A current hot topic in recent years has been the provision of multimedia services over IP networks - triple play. This course investigates the characteristics of video transmission and then studies the impact on IP networks. What will you learn Describe the issues of video and data convergence. Describe techniques, which can be used in IP to provide low uniform delay. Evaluate video technologies. Design data networks, which will support video.. Video conferencing over IP course details Who will benefit: Technical staff. Prerequisites: TCP/IP fundamentals Intro to data communications & networking Duration 3 days Video conferencing over IP course contents Review Traditional video, digital video, video formats, MPEG, brief review of IP, Uses of video: downloading, streaming, TV, CCTV, conferencing. Video over IP issues Delivery methods: FTTH, ADSL, VDSL, 3G and others. Bandwidth, delay, jitter, signalling. Digitising video, CODECS, packetising video, comparison of techniques. IP performance and QOS IP TOS field, queuing strategies; FIFO, WFQ, custom, priority, RED. Differentiated services, diffserv. Video over IP protocol stack RTP, RTCP, mixers and translators, RSVP. IPv6. Conferencing Traditional solutions, Video conferencing over IP, point to point, multipoint, architectures, bridges. IETF - Session Initiation Protocol Comparison with H.323, SIP proxy, proxy server, redirect server. SDP. Multicasting Multicasting compared to unicasting and broadcasting, when to use and when not to use multicasting. IGMP, DVMRP, PIM. Security Impact of firewalls and NAT, ISMA, DRM, DTCP.

Administering Microsoft SQL Server course description This course provides students with the knowledge and skills to maintain a Microsoft SQL Server database. The course focuses on how to use SQL Server 2016 product features and tools related to maintaining a database. Note: This course is designed for customers who are interested in learning SQL Server 2014 or SQL Server 2016. It covers the new features in SQL Server 2016, but also the important capabilities across the SQL Server data platform. What will you learn Describe core database administration tasks and tools. Configure SQL Server databases and storage. Import and export data. Monitor SQL Server. Trace SQL Server activity. Manage SQL Server security. Audit data access and encrypt data. Administering Microsoft SQL Server course details Who will benefit: Individuals who work with SQL Server databases. Individuals who develop applications that deliver content from SQL Server databases. Prerequisites: Introduction to data communications & networking. Duration 3 days Administering Microsoft SQL Server course contents Introduction to SQL Server administration Database administration, SQL Server platform, database management tools and techniques. Hands on SQL Server Management Studio, sqlcmd Windows PowerShell with SQL Server. Working with databases and storage Data storage with SQL Server, managing storage for system databases, managing storage for user databases, moving database files, configuring the buffer pool extension. Hands on Configuring tempdb storage, creating databases, attaching a database. Importing and exporting data Transferring data, importing and exporting table data, copying or moving a database. Hands on import and export wizard, bcp utility, BULK INSERT statement, OPENROWSET function. Monitoring SQL Server 2014 Monitoring SQL Server, dynamic management views and functions, performance monitor. Hands on Baseline metrics, monitoring a workload. Tracing SQL Server activity Tracing workload activity, using traces. Hands on Capturing a trace in SQL Server profiler, generating tuning recommendations. Managing SQL Server security SQL Server security, server-level security, database-level principals, database permissions. Hands on SQL Server security. Testing access.

IPTV training course description A current hot topic in recent years has been the provision of multimedia services over IP networks aka triple or quadruple play. This course investigates the characteristics of video transmission and then studies the impact on IP networks. What will you learn Use Wireshark to analyse and troubleshoot TV streams. Describe techniques, which can be used in IP to provide low uniform delay. Evaluate IPTV technologies. Design data networks, which will support IPTV. IPTV training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with IPTV. Prerequisites: TCP/IP Foundation for engineers Intro to data communications & networking. Duration 3 days IPTV training course contents What is IPTV? What is IP? What is TV? Pixels, frames, colour, digital modulation, digital video broadcasting. SDTV, HDTV, 4K. IPTV architectures, Contribution, distribution, delivery. IPTV standards. Hands on Base IP connectivity, VLC. IPTV protocol stacks IP, TCP, UDP, RTP. IPv6. HTTP. Bandwidth requirements. Hands on IPTV bandwidth calculations. Video codecs What is a CODEC, pictures and audio, digitisation, sampling, quantisation, encoding, compressing. MPEG, bit rates, resolution. I, B, P frames, GOP. MPEG 2, MPEG 4, H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1. Hands on Analysing MPEG frames. IP issues Quality vs. bandwidth. Bandwidth, delay, latency, jitter, signalling. Routers. Hands on Analysing jitter and other performance issues. IPTV performance and QoS IP DSCP field, queuing strategies; FIFO, WFQ, custom, priority, RED. Differentiated services, Diffserv. 802.1Q. Traffic shaping. QoE. Hands on best effort versus prioritisation. UDP versus TCP Reliable, unreliable, connection oriented, connectionless. Broadcasts, multicasts and unicasts. TCP flow control, TCP and performance. Hands on TCP window sizes. RTP RTP, ports, mixers, translators, RTCP, SMPTE, FEC. Hands on RTP analysis with Wireshark. Multicasting Multicasting compared to unicasting and broadcasting, when to use and when not to use multicasting. IGMP, PIM-SM, SSM. MLD. Hands on Analysing multicast streams. OTT TV HTTP, HTTPS, Chunked HTTP. Adaptive streaming. HTML5. DASH vs HLS. Hands on Analysing HTTP streams. Security Firewalls, TLS, DRM, watermarking. Encryption. Geolocation. VPNs. IPTV architecture and other protocols Content providers, Service providers, delivery networks, home networks. Caching, Service discovery. RTSP. SAP, SDP. DHCP, DNS, NTP Hands on Fixing the network.

VoIP training course description Convergence of voice and data is now a common place mainstream technology. Our Voice Over IP course investigates the characteristics of voice transmission and then studies the impact on IP networks. Practical sessions with soft phones, hard phones and gateways allow the students to see all aspects of VoIP. Network analysers are used to study packets on the wire. What will you learn Describe the issues of voice and data convergence. Describe techniques, which can be used in IP to provide low uniform delay. Evaluate VoIP technologies. Design data networks, which will support voice. VoIP training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working in the field of networking or telecommunications. Prerequisites: TCP/IP foundation for engineers Intro to data communications & networking Duration 3 days VoIP training course contents What is VoIP Voice over IP, brief review of IP, brief review of telephones and voice. Configuring IP softphones What are softphones? Downloading, installing. Hands on Building the base IP network, a simple VoIP call with softphones, Internet telephony. Addressing E164, FQDN, IP addresses, URIs, DNS, SIP addressing, H.323 addressing. VoIP issues Bandwidth, Delay, Jitter, digitising voice, digitisation steps, coding, quality issues, MOS, voice compression, silence suppression, packetising voice, prioritising voice, jitter buffers. Hands on Simple packet analysis. Architectures Desktop, backbone, gateway, hard phones, PoE, integrating phones and PCs, carriers, Softswitches. Hands on Integrating Softphones, hard phones and analog phones. IP performance and QoS ITU delay recommendations, IP DSCP field, DiffServ, IP precedence, queuing strategies; FIFO, WFQ, custom, priority, RED, LLQ. VoIP protocol stack RTP, RTCP, mixers and translators, RSVP. Bandwidth, Erlang models, link layer overhead. Hands on Calculating VoIP bandwidth, analysing RTP packets. ITU Recommendation H.323 Architecture, protocols, terminals, Call setup, Gatekeepers, gateway discovery, H.323 registration with a gatekeeper. Hands on PC to PC using H.323. IETF - Session Initiation Protocol What is SIP? SIP protocol stack, SDP, Sip architecture, SIP messages, Initial SIP phone startup, SIP servers, proxy server, redirect server. Hands on PC to PC using SIP. Carrier networks Signalling systems, SS7, media gateways, Media gateway controllers, signalling gateways, MGCP, Megaco, SIGTRAN. Hands on PSTN interworking. Video over IP Video components, digital video, pictures and audio, video codecs, issues and solutions, video conferencing, multipoint video conferencing, video protocol stack. Appendix 1: Multicasting. Appendix 2: Voice/data integration without IP.

Definitive Ethernet switching course description A hands on comprehensive look at Ethernet switches with extensive coverage of VLANs. The course focuses on the technology and not any one manufacturers product enabling delegates to configure switches from any manufacturer. What will you learn Configure and troubleshoot switches using: Console port telnet HTTP TFTP Configure and troubleshoot switch features such as: Duplex/speed Port based MAC security Spanning Tree Link aggregation Tagged ports Configure and troubleshoot VLANs. Definitive Ethernet switching course details Who will benefit: Technical staff. Prerequisites: Intro to data communications & networking. Duration 3 days Definitive Ethernet switching course contents What is Ethernet? LANs, network cards and cables, CSMA/CD, Ethernet frames, Ethernet evolution, 802.3. Hands on: ping, Ethernet speeds, CSMA/CD. Ethernet layer 2 Layer 2 functions, NICs, MAC addresses, unicasts, multicasts and broadcasts, frame formats. Hands on: Configuring NICs, Analysing MAC addresses with Wireshark IP and Ethernet Relationship Hands on: ARP. What is a switch? Switches connect multiple devices, switches versus hubs, simultaneous conversations, switches work at layer 2, the forwarding database, how the forwarding database is built, broadcast and collision domains Hands on: Difference between hubs and switches. Switch configuration Switch configuration Managed/unmanaged switches, configuration methods, reasons to configure switches. Console ports, HyperTerminal (and alternatives). Hands on: Using the console port to troubleshoot and configure switches. Switches in more detail Latency, forwarding mechanisms, switch fabrics. Hands on: Using telnet and HTTP to switches. Ethernet extensions Auto negotiation, Power over Ethernet. Hands on:Configuring and troubleshooting switch ports: Speed, duplex and security. Redundant links Loops, broadcast storms, STP, BPDU format, STP convergence. Hands on: Tracking blocked ports. STP convergence. Backbone links Architectures, link aggregation, LACP, load sharing, resilience. Hands on: fail over times. VLANs Virtual versus physical LANs, Why have VLANs? Broadcast domains, Creating VLANs, Assigning ports to VLANs. Hands on: Analysing the effect of VLANs on traffic. Enterprise VLANs VLANS are internal, multiple VLANs, Load balancing, Default VLAN, VLAN registration protocols: VTP, GVRP, MVRP. Hands on: VLANs on multiple switches. Tagging/Trunking Reason for tagging, terminology, tagging process, 802.1Q, Tag format, VLAN stacking. Hands on: Configuring and troubleshooting tags. STP variants RSTP, Common STP, Multiple STP, PVST, ring alternatives. Hands on: RSTP. Inter VLANs Layer 3 switching, IP addressing rules, Interconnecting VLANs. Hands on: Routing between VLANs. Troubleshooting Ethernet Methods, tools, locating faults, layer 1 issues, layer 2 issues Hands on: Fixing the network.

LTE Architecture and Protocols course description This course provides a comprehensive tour of the LTE architecture along with services provided and the protocols used. What will you learn Describe the overall architecture of LTE. Explain the information flows through LTE. Describe the LTE security. Describe LTE mobility management. Recognise the next steps for LTE. LTE Architecture and Protocols course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with LTE. Prerequisites: Mobile communications demystified Duration 3 days LTE Architecture and Protocols course contents Introduction History, LTE key features. The 4G ITU process. The LTE 3GPP specifications. Specifications. System Architecture LTE hardware architecture. UE architecture and capabilities. E-UTRAN and eNB. EPC, MME functions, SGW, PGW and PCRF. System interfaces and protocol stacks. Example information flows. Dedicated and default bearers. EMM, ECM, RRC state diagrams. Radio transmission and reception OFDMA, SC-FDMA, MIMO antennas. Air interface protocol stack. Logical, transport and physical channels. Frame and slot structure, the resource grid. Resource element mapping of the physical channels and signals. Cell acquisition, data transmission and random access. MAC, RLC, PDCP protocols. LTE spectrum allocation. Power-on procedures Network and cell selection. RRC connection establishment. Attach procedure, including IP address allocation and default bearer activation. LTE detach procedure. Security in LTE networks LTE security features, identity confidentiality, ciphering and integrity protection. Architecture of network access security in LTE. Secure key hierarchy. Authentication and key agreement procedure. Security mode command procedure. Network domain security architecture. Security associations using IKE and IPSec. Mobility management RRC_IDLE, RRC_CONNECTED. Cell reselection, tracking area updates. Measurement reporting. X2 and S1 based handovers. Interoperation with UMTS, GSM and non-3GPP technologies such as cdma2000. QoS, policy control and charging QoS in LTE, EPS bearers, service data flows and packet flows. The architecture and signalling procedures for policy and charging control. Data transport using GPRS, differentiated services and MPLS. Offline and online charging in LTE. Delivery of voice and text messages over LTE Difficulties and solutions for Voice over LTE. Architecture and call setup procedures for circuit switched fallback. Architecture, protocols and call setup procedures in IP multimedia subsystem. Enhancements in release 9 LTE location services. Multimedia broadcast / multicast service and MBSFN. Cell selection, commercial mobile alert service. LTE Advanced and release 10 Impact of carrier aggregation on LTE air interface. Enhanced MIMO processing on uplink and downlink. Relaying. Release 11 and beyond. OAM and self organising networks Operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning for LTE. Self-configuration of base station parameters. Fractional frequency re-use, inter-cell interference co-ordination. Self-optimisation of base station procedures. Self-healing to detect and recover from faults.

Telephone selling can be a challenge. It can be a pressured environment and sales professionals need to be able to maintain peak performance in order to meet - and preferably exceed - their targets. This programme will help make it easier for them. The expert trainer covers the whole process, to help participants see it from their customer's perspective. The focus is on how to use a practical understanding of sales psychology, and of the nature of the telephone sales conversation, to help make it easier for customers to buy. This programme will give your team the skills to: This course will help participants: Understand why people buy - and how that makes it easier to sell Manage the sales process better Steer their sales calls to a more positive outcome Recognise - and respond to - customer buying signals Meet and overcome objections Choose the most appropriate techniques for closing with confidence Enhance their resilience Improve their communication skills on the telephone 1 Introduction Aims and objectives Overview Self-appraisal of current skills and development areas 2 The sales approach What selling means Why selling is like nature 3 The telephone as an instrument of communication Qualities of the telephone How telephone communication differs from face-to-face Advantages and drawbacks of the telephone How to optimise selling over the telephone Communication techniques to help you stand out from the crowd 4 Creating a relationship Professional telephone etiquette Building a rapport Connecting with the customer so that they feel you are on the same wavelength 5 The structure of a sales call Opening the call - creating a positive first impression Effective questioning to gather information and establish need Identifying and presenting the features and benefits of the product or service Matching the benefits to customers' needs Recognising and responding to buying signals Anticipating, meeting and overcoming objections Closing the sale and asking for the order - different closing techniques The importance of testimonials - how to obtain them and when to use them 6 Listening skills The challenges of accurate listening How to enhance listening skills Ensuring the customer feels heard and understood through empathetic listening 7 Shaping and using a script Developing a script to increase levels of confidence Leaving the door open 8 Managing the campaign Organisation and call planning Identifying your target market group Planning who and when to call Logging constructive information 9 Personal management The importance of persistence Is there a time to back off? Stamina - optimising energy levels Bouncing back 10 Practising the new information Pulling the details together Practising in a supportive environment 11 Action planning Personal learning summary and action plan

Your grumpiest customers can become your biggest advocates if you solve their problems quickly, effectively and permanently. We supply the top tips for dealing with tricky customers so your teams can create positive outcomes from every interaction with some simple techniques that make a difference to relationships straight away. Bespoke courses include: Customer needs and expectations Communication styles and how to influence them Assertiveness The 4 psychological fears Dealing with difficult customer behaviour The power of your behaviour Five steps to customer problem solving