1205 Courses in Edinburgh

The course will introduce you to some of the most enduring photographic portraits and provide discussion on why they remain so seminal. The course includes an introduction to lighting and composition techniques for portraiture, as well as providing guidance on shutter speed, aperture, lenses, and other visual controls. You will use studio flash lighting to explore basic techniques in formal and informal portrait photography – though all of the techniques taught are transferrable to natural and other lighting media. There will be time for participants to photograph under three standard lighting set-ups. Some digital SLR photography experience is recommended. Morning The morning session centres on discussion of the work of some classic portrait photographers and standard techniques employed. The discussions will include elements of composition, pose, gesture, format and technique. Afternoon The afternoon session will cover practical studio lighting, standard lighting set-ups, direction of sitters, and time permitting also a brief introduction to some of the editing capabilities of Adobe Photoshop. Project Days are designed for those who are already familiar with digital photography processes but who want to pursue a particular aspect or develop more specific skills in one or more areas. This course is the perfect follow-on from our Digital SLR training courses and will support you in building upon your existing knowledge of DSLR camera skills and becoming a better photographer in general. It will help you to work confidently on your own creative projects and develop the artist in you.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Presentation Skills 101 is a course designed for those who want to improve their public speaking skills by learning basic skills of persuasion and developing more confidence, credibility and composure when presenting.

Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact, transmit the messages with clarity, engage the audience in the presentation, interpret and understand the mindsets of the listeners.

This highly practical workshop will help you become a more effective negotiator and learn the skills that master negotiators use.

Overview This Course is specially designed to enhance communication skills and gain advanced skills in office management. It will help identify key features of the role and will navigate through all the components and techniques for operating an efficient support team. This course will update your interpersonal skills, communication skills and other skills required to have effective office management and gain advanced administrative skills.

Hiring the right staff is one of the most important management and HR skills and it is critical to get it right. This course is designed for managers and HR specialists who either want to improve their interviewing skills or who are just now starting a recruitment role in the organisation.

Interactive Presentation Skills, Presenting, Presentations, Presentation Skills,

Portfolio Management Skills: In-House Training The main purpose of this workshop is to equip and enable people in a portfolio management office and PMO to effectively and efficiently support the Executive Leadership and Operational Management to plan, implement, manage, and evolve portfolio management in their organization. There is a deliberate focus on preparing you to become a strong and effective change advocate for meaningful portfolio management that delivers objective measurements of benefit contribution towards the strategic objectives to lead, manage, and continuously improve portfolio management governance, processes, and frameworks with and through the direction of a portfolio practice, principles, and delivery boards. What you Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Articulate the benefits of portfolio management Link the initiatives in an organization with its strategic objectives Participate in the introduction of portfolio management in an organization Create or improve the portfolio governance structure Lead the inventory of ongoing and new initiatives Assist the executives in the prioritization of initiatives through the use of Multi-criteria Analysis and other selection tools Support the executives in balancing the portfolio based on the optimal use of resources and priorities Create a portfolio delivery plan Define thresholds and variance reporting criteria Assist the executives and the financial team in the definition of Stage Gate Funding Lead the Stage Gate reviews Analyze the benefits that are being realized by the initiatives Foundation Concepts Definitions Benefits of Portfolio Management Objectives of Portfolio Management Portfolio Life Cycles Governing the Portfolio Portfolio Governance structure Roles and responsibilities Initial activities when starting portfolio management Prioritizing Initiatives Prioritize purpose Multi-Criteria Analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Strategic alignment Balancing the Portfolio Allocating resources and budgets Communicating decisions of initiatives status Planning the Portfolio Planning review cycles Using Stage Gate Funding Setting thresholds and variance reporting Tool examples Managing the Portfolio Delivery Project and Program Life Cycles Stage Gate Reviews Loop back to Prioritize, Balance and Plan Interaction with the Portfolio Delivery Board Project, Program and Functional Managers' roles and responsibilities

Project Communication Skills: In-House Training Communication is the single most critical project success factor. When effective, projects get executed on time, within budget, and with objectives being met. But that isn't all. Strong communication also nurtures healthy team relationships. And in today's highly diverse world, where projects are often fast-paced, complex, and virtual, that is more important than ever. Strong communication skills foster cultural awareness, trust, and empathy. Together, they contribute greatly to project success-and ultimately, to future project success. In this course, participants will actively explore best communication practices from a variety of perspectives: in-person, virtual, electronic, and via formal project documentation. In order to be transformative, however, those perspectives will be filtered further through the lens of their formal, personalized assessment. It is a powerful tool which identifies individuals' internal needs and priorities. It translates those into descriptive profiles and reports, gifting users with valuable information about themselves and others. Paired with the course's real-world activities, it will provide uniquely strategic opportunities for communicating effectively and meaningfully-and with less conflict, both personally and professionally. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Identify basic elements of communication and explain how they affect teams Explore how your assessment style impacts you and how you communicate with people of other styles Infer how your style impacts the way(s) you send and interpret emails and instant messages Analyze real world email and instant messaging practices to determine how they affect communication and relationships Explore best practices for formal project communications and presentations Analyze how your assessment style and global diversity can contribute to both strong team communication and conflict Identify solutions for virtual team work communication challenges Getting Started Foundation Concepts Communication as a foundation skill Elements of communication Communicating across media Targeting your audience How communication impacts team performance The Assessment Framework Overview of the assessment's approach Exploring assessment report Increasing your effectiveness with other assessment styles Email and Instant Messages Preferred communications and assessment styles The email brands we create Assessment styles and email Emotion and email Email guidelines and best practices Anatomy of an email The seven deadly email sins Instant messages and other interfaces Project Communications and Presentations Communicating across the project lifecycle Project templates Structuring a presentation Delivering a presentation Interpersonal and Team Communication Skills Communication styles and techniques Managing conflict in a project environment Styles and conflict Communication and global team leadership Virtual Communication Leading global virtual teams Virtual processes and technology Virtual team leadership

Project Leadership Skills: In-House Training To be effective within an organization, project managers need to have a wide variety of skills and abilities. Included among these are: creating and executing on a vision; motivating others; influencing without authority; networking; communicating up, down and laterally; negotiating; managing stakeholders; and managing conflict. This highly interactive workshop focuses on building the soft skills that are critical to leading a team and creating sustainable business change. Participants will gain insight into the social science as well as the brain science behind motivating and empowering others. They will learn and experiment with a variety of influencing strategies and tactics. Working in pairs as well as small groups, they will collaborate with others to brainstorm, share experiences, and apply concepts to everyday challenges. Participants will also discover their personal communication preferences, strengths, and blind spots and will gain insight into how best to communicate with others they find 'difficult.' They will gain insight into managing the people side of change, learning strategies for dealing with each step in the process. Hands-on negotiation and conflict management activities enhance the theoretical learning, grounding it in real life and making it actionable. Interweaving role play with experiential learning and group activities, this course will help participants refine a skill set that is invaluable to their organization, and one that transfers easily across their professional and personal lives. What You Will Learn At the end of this course, you will be able to: Explain the importance of vision in driving motivation and engagement Apply science-based research to better motivate those around you Strategically leverage both personal and positional power to achieve positive project results Determine influencing and networking strategies needed for personal growth Identify ways to problem solve communication challenges when others have different personality styles Connect stakeholder expectations to project success criteria Assess key stakeholders across various dimensions of complexity Apply the four rules of principled negotiation to a real-life conflict situation Recognize key aspects of a physiological response to conflict Utilize selected tools and techniques to 'defuse' an emotional situation Leverage various strategies and tactics to successfully deal with ambiguity at work Getting Started / Foundation Concepts Introductions Course structure, goals, and objectives Beginning a personal action plan Managing Vision and Purpose / Motivating Others Communicating and aligning around vision Tying the present to the future The importance of purpose The art and science of motivation Networking and Influencing Positive politics and project success Types of power within organizations Power and influence Networking best practices Communication The medium and the message Personality and communication styles Communication challenges Stakeholder Management and Negotiation Identifying stakeholders Analyzing stakeholders Negotiation basics Principled negotiation Conflict Management Dynamics of conflict The anatomy of conflict Conflict management approaches and tools Dealing with ambiguity Summary and Next Steps Key concepts review Creating your personal action plan