This is an essential programme for any member of staff whose role requires a high level of attention to detail. The focus is specifically on the handling of text and data, whether at the input stage or when collating information into reports and documents for use by others. The session looks at both prevention and cure. For 'prevention', it focuses on understanding how common errors occur and on developing an awareness of the factors which influence our level of attentiveness. It introduces key psychological theories around attentiveness including the 'capacity' and 'bottleneck filter' models. And it looks at how working styles can affect attention to detail. For 'cure', the programme looks at how to minimise the effect of stress on concentration as well as introducing a number of tools and techniques for promoting accuracy - at both the input and the checking stages. Particular attention is paid to proof-reading techniques. By the end of the session, participants will: Appreciate why errors occur Understand how stress and other factors can affect focus and accuracy Know how to improve accuracy and reduce errors when handling text and data Be able to proof-read text and number-based documents more accurately 1 The importance of accuracy The impact of mistakes Why accuracy is so important Main reasons why errors occur 2 Attentiveness theory The 'capacity' and 'bottleneck filter' models Selective attention Chunking - big picture / little picture 3 Preparing for accuracy Working styles - how they affect detail-orientation Identifying and minimising the impact of stress on concentration 4 Practical strategies How to improve accuracy and reduce errors when inputting text Managing interruptions and distractions Proofing text and numbers
Introduction to International Trade This module provides a foundational understanding of the development and significance of international trade, focusing on the UK's trade strategy and its global role. Participants will explore key topics such as trade definitions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the evolution of customs, and major post-WW2 trade developments. Additionally, the module covers the UK's entry into and exit from the EU, and the current UK Digital Strategy for International Trade. **Agenda Highlights**: - Definitions and importance of international trade - Overview of the WTO - Customs fundamentals - Post-WW2 global trade growth - Impact of EU membership and Brexit - UK Digital Strategy for international trade growth
This very practical workshop has a simple objective: to help you prepare, design and deliver memorable and high-quality presentations. This programme will help you: Use a proven, structured tool-kit when designing and developing presentations Benefit from short cuts and best practice when designing and using Powerpoint presentations Select the right information, examples, exercises and activities - and use them well Prepare and structure a presentation or session appropriate to the audience, and to best achieve your objectives Maintain audience or group interest Develop and practise presentation skills to improve your voice tone, speech power and body language Use practical methods to control nerves and anxiety - develop higher levels of confidence and credibility Command a room, hold attention and create a high impact 1 Introduction Personal objectives Key messages and learning objectives of the workshop 2 Presentation skills What does good look like? Exercise: Characteristics of high/low impact presentations Presenting yourself as a 'winner' The energy / attitude model Exercise: Being a winner 3 Preparation skills - eight steps to preparing a great presentation, plus Powerpoint tips •The magic circle• How to 'assume the role' when presenting• The eight steps• Step 1 - develop your objectives- The five questions that you must answer before preparing your presentation- Defining your objectives and outcomes- Creating a first draft- Step 1 exercise• Step 2 - analyse your audience- Doing your homework: audience, event, venue- Developing a pre-event check-list- Methods and means for researching your audience- Step 2 exercise• Steps 3 and 4 - structure the main body of your presentation and state the main ideas- Ways to structure your presentation for maximum impact- Balancing and managing content and topics- Organising your information: 6 options and methods- Your 'one main point' and creating a 30-second summary- Steps 3 and 4 exercises• Step 5 - decide on supporting information, using the toolkit- Making your case convincing: ways to support your claims- Selecting and using relevant and interesting examples- Quotes, case studies and printed material- Presenting statistics, tables and graphs- Ways of maintaining visual interest- Transitions and links, creating a 'golden thread'- Step 5 exercise: Creating compelling stories and anecdotes4• Step 6 - create an effective 'opening'- Claiming the stage and creating a good first impression- The three most powerful ways of opening a presentation- The five elements of a strong opening- Step 6 exercise: Participants work individually to prepare an opening, focusing onpersonal introduction, and then deliver to the group, with structured feedback• Step 7 - develop transitions- Step 7 exercise / examples• Step 8 - create an effective close- Signalling and sign-posting; the importance of, and how to do it effectively- Five ways to close a presentation successfully- Step 8 exercise / examples• Presentation design and Powerpoint- An interactive review of participants' own real-life past presentations and advanced tipsand techniques on using Powerpoint effectively 4 Facilitation skills The three main types of group activity - triads, teams and main group How to select the right activity, define the objectives, set it up and run the debrief Using energisers - with examples Exercise: Dealing with 'difficult' behaviours Exercise: Working in triads, design and deliver 5 Tips and tricks: presentation and facilitation 10 reasons why facilitation fails Five golden rules for success Defining the session goals and the facilitation plan Open and closed questions - why and when to use Using a 'car park' to manage unresolved issues Using AV aids - tips and tricks Exercises: Including participants working in pairs to prepare a short section form of one of their own presentations 6 Putting it all together Summary of key learning points Action plan
Wouldn't sales be a 'walk in the park' without challenging customers? Why is it that some customers are so difficult to please, so quick to call 'foul' at the slightest blip and so mean with their gratitude after we've bent over backwards to accommodate them? Whether we are looking at prospective or existing customers, there is a toolkit for dealing with the most challenging of them. This course will help participants: Use broad open questions to give the customer a platform for their opinions or issues Improve listening skills to really understand what's behind the customer's challenging style Probe specific phrases to show listening and earn deeper disclosure Use silence to let challenging customers 'blow off steam' Understand the negative impact of certain phrases on a challenging customer Summarise effectively and reassure the customer of our understanding of their needs Recognise the 'behaviour cycle' and avoid emotional escalation Understand 'transactional analysis' and how to bring people from 'child' to 'adult' state Create loyalty in customers who are slow to give trust 1 What makes a customer 'challenging'? Why customers challenge us - understanding their drivers 'Wearing their shoes' - seeing things from their perspective Understanding our own personality style How to flex with a style that is different from our own Ways to quickly recognise a customer's style The benefits of flexing with a challenging customer's style 2 Practical exercise - forum theatre Participants take it in turns to deal with the trainer (who plays the role of the challenging customer) Observers stop the action when they hear or see something they deem wrong The participant in the seat gets a chance to use a suggested alternative line The participant who makes the suggestion has the chance to occupy the seat and deliver it themselves Frequent feedback from the trainer as to how the participant's words are making him feel Opportunities to rewind the action if an ill-advised line is suggested and delivered Flipchart for capturing what worked, what didn't work and why Mehrabian principle - the importance of body language and tone over words used 3 Questioning and listening skills How to use open questions to get the customer talking What questions to avoid and why The use of pauses and silence to reduce tension and build trust What listening is and what it isn't Question funnelling - how to earn deeper disclosure through probing The power of summary 4 Transactional analysis explained What is transactional analysis (TA)? Exploring the TA states and why people behave in that way under pressure How to bring challenging customers to 'adult' state to reduce tension How 'parent' or 'child' behaviours can be inadvertently triggered Understanding the 'behavioural cycle' and how to break it Mini-role play 'vignettes' to demonstrate real time impact of ill-chosen words 5 How to build trust with challenging customers Techniques for placating current challenging customers Methods that the participants have already used effectively - understanding why those methods worked and how other participants can model them Participants' experiences of trust having been lost - understanding why those experiences had that negative outcome How to 'go the extra mile' with challenging customers 6 Bringing a 'real' challenging customer to life Participants give the trainer a brief profile of a specific challenging customer of theirs 5-10 minute roleplay in which the trainer brings that individual to life Observing participants - without interrupting - make notes on what is and isn't working Trainer stops the action half-way through to give feedback on how he is feeling Participant goes back into the roleplay having recalibrated their approach based on feedback Observers give feedback on what did and didn't work Trainer comes out of character to explain the impact of the participant's words and behaviours 7 Wrap-up Key learnings from each participant Individual action planning - steps that can and will be implemented in the workplace
This very practical and focused one-day workshop enables end-users, technical experts, proponents, internal customers and other key stakeholders to work with procurement and contracting to develop effective specifications and scopes of work, to ensure fit-for-purpose outcomes. The programme empowers participants to collaborate with all key stakeholders. This workshop will help participants: Understand the importance and value of clear and effective specifications Differentiate between the different methods of creating specifications and when to apply them Develop robust specification templates to ensure consistency Understand the use of appropriate language (critical to creating effective specifications) Appreciate the need to develop specifications in cooperation with stakeholders Make use of techniques such as value analysis and value engineering to define 'fit for purpose' in the context of creating effective specifications Embed key KPIs into the specification to ensure delivery Manage and mitigate legal and contractual risks in the specification 1 Introduction Learning outcomes Learning styles Plan for the day 2 The importance of effective specifications Scopes of work Impact of poor scopes of work Examples of costly errors 3 The critical role of language Terminology in creating effective specifications and scopes of work Problems of communication Lack of detail or too prescriptive 4 Encouraging cooperation Technical and commercial experts with responsibility for developing robust effective specifications and scopes of work Managing stakeholders' expectations Working with contractors 5 Types of specification Exploring and using the various approaches to the development of appropriate specifications and scopes of work Output Performance Technical Functional Solutions-based 6 The role of value analysis Value engineering in the process of developing scopes of work and specifications 7 Specifications and contracts The legal and contractual impact of poor specifications and scopes of work How to embed scopes of work and specification outputs into tender and quotation documents 8 Specifications as a management tool Developing KPIs and SLAs framed around robust effective specifications and scopes of work Negotiating with contractors Negotiating with stakeholders
Join a Biodiversity collage workshop to learn about the biodiversity crisis and how to tackle it.
FORS Approved Safe Urban Driving (SUD) - On-Cycle Training Comply with FORS Silver Standard and hone your drivers' urban driving skills with our comprehensive Safe Urban Driving (SUD) course. This DVSA-approved, one-day course combines classroom theory with practical on-cycle training to equip commercial drivers with the knowledge and experience to navigate urban environments safely. Who Should Attend? This course is mandatory for all HGV drivers who regularly operate in urban areas with high volumes of vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians. Course Structure: Classroom Session (3.5 hours): Understanding the changing urban landscape and its challenges. Sharing the road safely with vulnerable road users. Mastering defensive driving techniques. Importance of vehicle safety equipment maintenance. On-Cycle Training (3.5 hours): Practical experience riding a bicycle (physical ability required for certificate). Developing driver empathy and hazard recognition for cyclists' needs. Enhancing driver attitude and perception through role-switching. Introduction to active travel and its impact on driver fitness and health. Additional Information: Course duration is 7 hours, including breaks, and aligns with DVSA regulations. Licensed training providers deliver this DCPC-approved course. Invest in your drivers' safety and ensure compliance with FORS Silver Standard. Enrol in our Safe Urban Driving (SUD) - On-Cycle training today!
About this Training Course This 3 full-day course will provide insights into many aspects of operating the modern refinery as a business. This will include technical information on refining processes, crude oils and processing options, the place of the refinery in the value chain, refinery cost structure and management, optimization and profit margin, energy and oil loss reduction. This course will also address important management tools and techniques used for economic evaluations in refineries including future trends. This course will include presentations, simulations, a trading game, and exercises. This is an interactive session where participants can propose relevant topics upfront to discuss during class. This course can be further tailored for inexperienced or experienced personnel. Further customization can also include addressing a specific refinery, plant or unit. The option for post-course consultancy or help-desk support is also available. This course can also be offered through Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) format. Training Objectives By participating in this highly intensive course, participants will be able to: Understand the main functions in refining processes, configurations and its operating characteristics Analyse the choice of crude, processing options and desired products and product quality parameters Closely review refinery economics and planning, margins, costing & valuation including trading Apply the methodology of refinery optimization and product improvement Gain an application of analytical tools to refinery management, supply chain and their economic drivers Appreciate the current challenges, opportunities and future trends impacting the refining industry Target Audience This course will benefit all refinery technical personnel, operations' process engineers and process managers, technical services engineers and managers, refinery planners, newly-hired refinery personnel and current semi-technical personnel who require introductory training to acquire the broader perspective of refinery economics and supply. Course Level Basic or Foundation Trainer Your expert course leader is a passionate world-class expert with 35 years of international experience in Crude Oil, Refinery Planning and Masterplanning, Process Modelling, LP Modelling and Optimization Best Practices. He has a sound understanding of refinery processes and economics. After retiring from Shell in 2020, he is now a principal consultant for Crude Oil & Refinery Modelling. He enjoys dealing with challenging technical problems and opportunities to deliver value through practical solutions. He has a hands-on mentality, is flexible and builds strong relationship with clients. During his career, he coached many engineers and delivered countless inhouse and external courses on crude oil, hydrocracking and general refinery processes and economics at the Shell Open University and many other client locations. He authored and co-authored several publications and presentations at international conferences and has three patents to his name. He understands how to deliver outstanding services in sometimes difficult cultural and commercial situations, having worked for clients around the world. He works effectively in multi-disciplinary teams, has strong analytical and problem-solving skills as well as excellent consulting, facilitation and interpersonal and multilingual skills. He has an MSc in Chemical & Agricultural Engineering (cum laude) and a BSc in Chemical & Agricultural Engineering from the University Ghent, Belgium. He is currently the Principal Consultant for Crude Oil & Refinery Modeling at Petrogenium, the international, independent, technical consultancy in oil refining, petrochemicals, oil & gas production & renewable resources. POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL) To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster. Request for further information post training support and fees applicable Accreditions And Affliations