Bring back clarity, connection and confidence with our advanced communication skills training course
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” –George Bernard Shaw
Our Advanced Communication Skills half-day workshop helps staff at every level build the listening, questioning, and awareness skills that transform everyday conversations. Effective communication is a two-way street: you’ll learn not only how to share your ideas clearly, but also how to receive messages without distortion from bias, assumptions, or distractions.
Next course: 29 January 2026. Contact us if you’d like to bring the course in-house before then.
Who this training is for
Our advanced communication skills training is for everyone.
Whether you’re on the front line, part of a project team, or managing others, you’ll benefit from learning how to:
- Make sure your message lands clearly
- Receive messages without bias or assumptions
- Help colleagues, customers and other stakeholders feel heard and understood.
This training is a good springboard for
If you’re thinking of attending any of the courses below, then this communication skills training makes a great prerequisite:
These courses use several of the questioning and listening techniques that you will learn in this advanced communication skills training.
Why great communication skills matter
Miscommunication is one of the biggest challenges in any workplace.
When people feel misunderstood, it leads to frustration, disengagement, and conflict – this applies to employees, managers, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
By focusing on both sides of the conversation — speaking and truly listening — this workplace advanced communication skills training helps participants:
- Uncover the “noise”: Reduce misunderstandings by identifying and overcoming the barriers that distort messages, including common cognitive biases and other distractions.
- Listen to understand, not just respond – Make every person feel valued using active listening skills that make others feel respected and valued.
- Ask effective questions – Uncover solutions and prompt deeper reflection by using questioning techniques that clarify meaning, uncover needs, and strengthen relationships.
- Read beyond words – Deepen understanding and build connection by recognising the role of non-verbal communication.
- Sharpen your email writing skills – ensure that your emails get the attention they deserve by writing in a way that removes potential misunderstandings or overlooked action points.
- Communicate clearly in writing – avoid confusion by applying fundamental writing skills in reports, customer letters, and other written communication.
This training shifts communication from one-way delivery to genuine two-way understanding.
What you'll gain from this advanced communication skills training
Great communication is a two-way street. This workshop helps you strengthen both sides — expressing your ideas clearly and receiving others’ messages accurately. Here’s what you’ll walk away with:
Clarity in sending messages
- Learn how to structure your points so they land the first time.
- Cut out jargon and use language that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
- Reinforce meaning through tone, emphasis, and non-verbal communication.
Confidence in receiving messages
- Recognise how cognitive biases and assumptions can distort what you hear.
- Practice active listening techniques to ensure you grasp the real message.
- Use questioning skills to clarify meaning and show others they’ve been heard.
Reduced conflict and misunderstandings
- Prevent crossed wires by combining clear delivery with attentive listening.
- Respond thoughtfully instead of reacting to incomplete or misinterpreted information.
- Create smoother, more collaborative interactions across your team.
Stronger relationships and trust
- Build credibility by communicating with openness and clarity.
- Foster an environment where colleagues and clients feel valued and respected.
- Strengthen professional relationships by ensuring people feel truly listened to.
Higher productivity and engagement
- Save time and reduce mistakes caused by unclear instructions or missed details.
- Boost team efficiency by keeping everyone on the same page.
- Increase employee engagement through genuine two-way communication.
Transferable lifelong skills
- Apply advanced communication strategies not just at work but in everyday life.
- Improve personal interactions, customer conversations, and leadership potential.
- Build a skillset that supports ongoing professional and personal growth.
By the end of the course, you’ll have practical tools to both deliver your message with confidence and receive others’ messages with accuracy and empathy — leading to stronger connections, fewer misunderstandings, and a more engaged workplace.
Course delivery and practical info
Delivery options
Training can be delivered as:
- In‑person workshops (in-house)
- Virtual workshops (public offerings)
Practical info
Next dates: 29 January 2026
Time: 9am to 2pm
Cost: $517.50 incl GST
You need: computer, webcam, headphones (if attending in an office) and good wifi connection.
Our approach
At Epic People, our courses are grounded in:
- Real workplace experience — not theory alone
- Adult learning principles that respect managers’ experience
- Practical tools managers can apply straight away, rather than abstract theoretical concepts
- A supportive environment that builds confidence and capability
Why choose Epic People as your communication skills training provider?
After 30+ years working in Human Resources and training across a variety of industries, we’ve seen first hand how communication skills can make or break teams. Whether it’s one on one discussions between a manager, or communication between peers, misunderstandings are common and easily avoided. We also believe in getting the fundamentals right. This course isn’t aspirational, it’s practical and follows our commitment to ensuring people walk out of our workshops with the confidence to apply real, tangible skills, not just a headful of ideas.
Our workshops are always highly practical. We walk through processes step by step, discovering tools, techniques, conversation starters, and process models that make it easier to create an environment of independence, and growth.
Course overview - advanced communication skills
Here’s a summary of the course structure.
- Exploring the components of a typical communication model.
- Identifying different types of ‘noise’ and understanding how internal and external noise can distort messages.
- Recognising and understanding the different types of cognitive biases that impact message translation, and apply techniques to overcome those biases.
- Exploring the various types and levels of listening, and recognising why some types of listening prevent people from being truly heard.
- Learning and applying active listening techniques for effective receiving of spoken messages.
- Applying a range of questioning techniques to complement active listening, to influence, uncover solutions to problems or to prompt deeper thinking from the speaker.
- Observing and recognising different non-verbal communication signals.
- Busting myths about body language, and what to look for instead.
- Writing emails in a way that grab attention, get the message across, and ensure that any actions required are taken as requested.
- Applying plain English techniques to written work to ensure written messages and reports are easily understood.
Courses that complement this training
Recruitment skills training
Successful recruitment and selection of new team members relies heavily on excellent communication skills. Clearing away biases, asking the right questions the right way, and active listening are essential skills to help you hire the right person first time.
Empowering your staff using coaching skills
To truly empower your staff, you need to ask more than you tell. Having a range of questioning techniques at your disposal, active listening, and setting aside biases are all essential communication skills for building a coaching culture.
Managing poor performance
Whether underperformance is because of ability, willingness or something else, taking a curious approach is often the best way forward. Applying a range of communication skills facilitates a curious approach to understanding the causes of poor performance.
Social intelligence training
Social intelligence training builds awareness of how behaviour and interpersonal dynamics impact performance conversations, feedback, trust and engagement. Combine this with advanced communication skills to build an environment of trust and psycholotical safety.
Advanced Communication Skills Course FAQ's
Here are some common questions about leadership advanced coaching skills for managers.
What is communication skills training?
Communication skills training develops skills for both sharing and receiving messages. It teaches you how to express your ideas clearly and — just as importantly — how to listen actively, ask great questions, cut through bias, and interpret messages accurately.
Why is communication skills training important in the workplace?
In the workplace, miscommunication wastes time, causes errors, and lowers morale. Workplace communication training helps teams reduce misunderstandings, improve collaboration, and create stronger working relationships by ensuring everyone feels heard.
I'm doing the team leader development program. Should I do this course?
No, you shouldn’t do this course if you are already doing, or have done our team leader training program. All of the content in this course is included in that programme. That said, if you did the programme a long time ago, then this course makes great refresher training.
Is this training suitable for NZ workplaces?
Yes! Our training is designed by us, not purchased from overseas. We know kiwi workplaces and have designed this training with that in mind.
Can this training be customised for our workplace?
Yes it can! We will work with you to understand your organisation’s culture and values, and can build them in to the program.
What post-course support is available?
We’re not just trainers, but we’re HR consultants too! We’re on hand to help with any ongoing support and learning, or to help you though any difficult staff situations. You can bounce ideas off us, role play, or validate the approach you’re planning to take … be prepared to be coached!
Are you ready to bring back clarity, connection and confidence in your workplace?
We’re standing by to discuss how we can help your organisation to flourish through excellence in communication.
Epic workplaces communicate effectively
Let’s talk about how we can help your organisation thrive.
