Communication & Interpersonal Skills Training

It is better that Officers talk their way out of a situation rather than fight their way out of it. Better again for officers not to talk their way into that situation in the first place.

Despite the fact that effective communication is at the very core of effective law enforcement many officers receive limited specific training on this subject. Small wonder that they end up resorting to force, when a few well chosen words may have done the trick. We literally wrote the book on this.

Our Communications and interpersonal skills courses vary in length from one day to one week and are intended to provide students with the skills necessary to be effective throughout their career regardless of what role they are undertaking. Courses are intensive with significant amounts of psychological theory interspersed with role play exercises. Courses are designed to equip officers with the skills to understand why conflict arises, to minimize the number of those conflicts, and to resolve them.

Our approach to interpersonal skills training seeks to bring about long-term behavioral change with officers. Through classroom based role plays the officer's dominant communication style is identified and negative traits challenged. The training is adapted to meet the needs of the individual student.

Our leadership training is aimed at helping leaders in agencies better understand what is happening with their staff, how to communicate more effectively with them.

Leadership courses also include on effective decision making and identify common psychological errors in decision making. As many of the conflicts encountered in the workplace are avoidable, our courses also address how to prevent and manage conflict.

Communication Skills for Police Officers - 5 day Course

Improving the communication skills of officers is an investment in their future, enabling them to serve their community more effectively. Our interpersonal skills course for police officers is five days. The underpinning psychological theories that impact on communication will be explained in easily understood language. We will identify the dominant traits of each student and show how these traits impact on others. Students will be given the opportunity to apply the theories they have learned, in numerous classroom-based roleplays. This course is about understanding the theory and applying it in a policing context.

We will deliver the course at your location, regardless of where in the world you are. The cost is $6000 for 15 students (plus expenses)

At the end of the training students will be able to:

Provide examples of their traits that impact on communication.
Recall the fundamental aspects of the technique known as “active listening”.
Identify the benefits of listening effectively.
Listen more effectively.
List the elements that contribute to effective listening.
Describe how specific parts of their behaviour are controlled by the brain.
Explain the difference between conscious and unconscious thought.
Identify the key elements in a person’s value system.
Explain how a value system impacts behaviour.
Explain the impact of emotion on behaviour.
Describe the elements of effective communication.
Identify the barriers to effective communication.
List the benefits of improving communication.
Explain the significance of non-verbal communication.
State the different types of question that can be used.
Provide examples of diversity and culture on issues impacting on interactions.
Describe the key aspects of motive and motivation in human behaviour.
Demonstrate the practical application of motive.
Describe the impact of culture and context on communication.
Provide strategies for identifying conflict and de-escalating it.
Explain a model of conflict de-escalation.

The themes of community policing, respecting diversity, ethics, human rights, and civil liberties will be at the core of all lessons.

This course can be adapted to meet specific needs of those involved in management. It will provide officers with the interpersonal skills necessary to resolve community-based problems and to deal with hard-to-reach communities. It will also equip officers with the ability to understand a variety of audiences and to deliver effective presentations.