In your quest to improve your interpersonal communication skills, you would have considered a communication workshop. With its interactive and participatory nature, workshops have long been recognized as a highly-practical learning modality. Unlike attending a class, workshops encourage active engagement, personal clarity, and hands-on learning. But what if we could have the benefits of a communication workshop in one-on-one (1:1) coaching as well?
It’s not a stretch to imagine. A communication workshop that’s personalised just for you (i.e. designed for an audience of ONE) is actually highly similar to one-on-one coaching. Below are the remarkable parallels between the modalities of workshopping and one-on-one personal coaching, for the purpose of cultivating better interpersonal communication skills.
⚠️ Why Do You Want to Attend a Communication Workshop?
① “People tell me they don’t understand what I’m trying to say.”
② “People say I’m beating around the bush, and asks me to ‘get to the point’.”
③ “People comment I’m too quiet, and tells me to speak up more.”
④ “People don’t acknowledge, or ignore my verbal contributions.”
⑤ “People say I’m too emotional, too harsh or too blunt.”
⑥ “It’s a challenge to express or assert my ideas in front of a group.”
If these sound like your real-life experience, your boss, colleagues – or even HR – might say that your critical core skills need to be improved. This becomes even more important if you want to better your chances at career progression. A communication workshop may indeed re-open your possibilities.
⚠️ Which Is Suitable for You?
A Communication Workshop, or 1-On-1 Coaching?
| WORKSHOP | 1-ON-1 COACHING |
| Fixed curriculum. | Follows what’s going on in your real-life situation. |
| Catered to mass public. | Customized to your specific needs. |
| Trainer’s attention is divided across many students. | Coach gives 100% attention to you. |
| Teaching is front-loaded & delivered within a short time. | Learning unfolds over time, adjusting to the real situations & needs of your life. |
| Trainer spends the course duration delivering the lesson. | Coach spends the duration helping you to uncover your blindspots and solutions. |
| Knowledge is the main product. | Progress is the main product. |
The above characteristics are the classic differences between most ‘teaching’ modalities (workshops, trainings and courses) and 1-on-1 coaching. You will see this in 90% of cases. There could be variations, depending on the style of the professionals, as well as the business models they operate on. If you are looking to work on communication and/or confidence challenges, consider which of these modalities are suitable for you.
What If a Communication Workshop Could Be Personalized For You
Facilitating workshops was something I used to do in the earlier part of my career. While they were generally useful for helping the group find clarity and devise next steps, I was constantly finding ways to cater to each of the individuals as much as possible. When I imagine what a communication workshop could be if it could be personalized for ONE, these 3 characteristics come to mind:
1. Personalized Attention
Just as one-on-one coaching provides individualized focus, a communication workshop designed for one participant ensures that all content, exercises, and discussions cater exclusively to the participant’s communication journey.
2. Client-Led Experience
Similar to personal coaching, a workshop for an individual lets the participant take the reins. They actively engage in discussions, share their challenges, and collaborate with the facilitator to shape the workshop’s trajectory.
3. Customized Learning
In a one-on-one communication workshop, the material is tailored to the participant’s objectives. Whether it’s overcoming public speaking anxiety or fine-tuning active listening skills, the content is meticulously chosen to address the participant’s unique goals.
Hui Ling
The Parallels to a Communication Workshop in One-On-One Coaching
Now, as a communication and confidence coach, I consistently experience parallels to the same 3 characteristics when I work with my clients. I might even say a coaching session is essentially a communication workshop – for an audience of ONE!
1. Client-Centric Approach
One-on-one coaching places the individual, or the client, at the center stage. The coaching process is tailored to the specific goals, challenges, and needs of the client. This personalized approach ensures that every aspect of the coaching journey is aligned with the client’s unique journey.
2. Empowerment Through Self-Direction
In one-on-one coaching, the client is not a passive recipient of advice or instructions. Instead, they actively steer the direction of the coaching process. By setting goals, identifying areas for improvement, and collaboratively strategizing with the coach, clients take ownership of their growth.
3. Tailored Strategies and Feedback
Personalized coaching allows for the creation of strategies and action plans that are finely tuned to the client’s preferences and learning style. The feedback provided is immediate, specific, and directly applicable to the client’s communication challenges.
Who You Work With Matters More
The transformational power of one-on-one coaching in honing interpersonal communication skills is undeniable. It’s a process that places the client in the driver’s seat, harnessing their intrinsic motivation and personal objectives. As this article has revealed, a communication workshop designed for an audience of one operates on strikingly similar principles. The tailored attention, client-led journey, and customized growth opportunities combine to create an immersive experience that supercharges communication skills. But ultimately, whether you seek the intimacy of one-on-one coaching or the dynamic engagement of a personal workshop, who you work with matters most.
How I can help you improve your communication at work
I can help you improve your communication and reclaim your confidence at work. This is familiar territory I’ve visited with clients on over the years, as a full-time communication coach, specializing in communication and confidence.
Every coaching engagement is unique, because each client has different needs, weaknesses and strengths. However, there are processes that unfold every single time:
- Through open exploration and in-depth reflection, we will uncover your blindspots.
- Once you can see the cause or nature of your issue, you might also be able to see how you can do things differently so you get different result.
- I can also guide you to try new ways of saying or doing things, that are effective and feel authentic for you.
- Together, we will co-create practices that you can adopt, to assimilate what you learn into your regular way of being.
- I will provide you with honest feedback which you can use to calibrate and fine-tune your new skills.
What coaching is
Coaching is a form of super-customised learning, focused solely on your needs. It is one of the most dignified forms of professional help, because you choose the topic, direction and depth of what you wish to work on.
In fact, my clients are NOT ‘broken’ in any way. They are capable, creative and self-initiated individuals who want to live out their full potential. Many of them are high-performers at their workplace.
They just want support to help them hit their objectives more quickly and with less pain.
If taking ownership of your growth appeals to you, coaching is might be suitable for you.
WhatsApp me now, to find out how you and I can work together on your communication and confidence.
Or, if you know what you want, and would like to move things along more quickly, you can pre-book a ‘chemistry’ coaching session with me → here. I will respond to you to confirm the session.
"A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change a life."
~ John R. Wooden