Course Description
Today’s workplace is filled with more varied generational backgrounds, expectations and communication styles than ever before. While differences can be great strengths, they can also be a source of stress and disconnect if not approached properly. Our workshops on intergenerational communication explore what your team’s particular experience has been and provide tools, techniques, strategies and a mindset to increase the effectiveness of communication within multi-generational teams.
Note: we have had a high degree of interest in this topic, and know that it is an area of a great deal of discussion and angst. Our approach to the topic is different than other consultants or trainers. We do not believe that the key in resolving intergenerational communication barriers is to focus on describing the differences between the generations. While there is no doubt that millennials are more digital natives than baby boomers, we do not find that a focus on such matters (at least for any length) really moves the ball forward. We therefore focus on interpersonal communication barriers within the context of generational differences, not on describing the general differences between the generations.
Course Length Options
Our Intergenerational Communications material can be presented as a series of three or four modules over time, or presented in full in a full-day workshop. We will happily provide you with greater depth on how we might best implement this material in your context, but with the assumption that this is your first experience with this course you may want to consider the course length options as providing increasing depth and skill development. For instance, an initial 90 minute Intergenerational Communications workshop will be more focused on framing the issue than on skill development to navigate the issues presented. We always seek to provide actionable take-aways in our workshops, but will not be able to build competencies in this area at the same depth as a half or full day workshop will allow.
Another way to view our course length options is to view them on a continuum. Most of our courses are designed to move from Awareness to Competency to Mastery. The 2-hour to half-day workshops will provide increasing depth of Competency with the full day workshop designed to provide very strong skills (Mastery) in the subject matter. That said, the skillset obtained in a full day program can be supplemented and re-enforced with follow-up experiences.
90 Minutes
- Exercises
- Debrief
- Next Steps
2 Hours
- Exercises
- Debrief
- Next Steps
- Localize Issues
3 Hours
- Exercises
- Debrief
- Next Steps
- Localize Issues
- Action Items
Half Day
- Exercises
- Debrief
- Next Steps
- Localize Issues
- Action Items
- Small Group Exercises
Full Day
- Exercises
- Debrief
- Next Steps
- Localize Issues
- Action Items
- Small Group Exercises
- Small Group Projects
- Accountability Plan
Group Size Options
Small Group
5 - 20 ParticipantsSmall Group
Intergenerational Communications workshops can work quite well in a small group setting for both homogenous and diverse (generationally-speaking) groups.
Mid-Size Group
Groups of 25 - 100Mid-Size Groups
Groups of 25 – 100 work well for Intergenerational Communication courses. In fact, the localization insights are generally best obtained from groups of this size.
Large Groups
Groups of 100 - 250Large Groups
Large groups can also work well for Intergenerational Communications workshops. Understanding the facility will, however, be important for tailoring the course.
Conferences
Groups of 250 +Conferences
Although a full day course may not work as well for especially large groups for this course, Intergenerational Communication can be impactful for large groups.