Even with the ever-growing dominance of computers and social networking sites, and the popularity of e-mail and text messaging, the telephone continues to be the tool of choice for most business communication. It is very important, therefore, to establish good telephone manners in order to convey a polished professional image. Poor telephone technique, sloppy cell phone savvy and missing mobile manners all detract from the impression you make when you make a call.

Here are some practical guidelines to help you foster fabulous phone finesse, ensuring you are heard even when you’re not seen!

Criticism is often seen as a negative thing – look it up in any Thesaurus and you'll find it right there alongside such choice words as condemnation, disapproval, nit-picking and fault-finding. This is solely down to the fact that most people only ever criticise in a negative way. And we only ever refer to criticism as criticism when it's negative – positive criticism becomes 'approval' or 'praise'.

The truth is, criticism, when given in an appropriate way at an appropriate time, can have many positive effects – both for the giver and the recipient. The trick is to learn how to criticise in a positive and constructive manner, and to watch out for the pitfalls of negative criticism.

We all make plans we don't stick to and make resolutions we don't keep. It's easy to think big - but even easier to act small. Why do we do this? Why do we sabotage our dreams and fail to reach our goals? And what can we do to ensure we end up living the life of our dreams?

At social events where we may not know many people, it is easy to feel out of our depth. We may struggle to start a conversation with strangers, and end up feeling uncomfortable instead of confident. How can we change this scenario? What skills can we learn to ensure we enjoy ourselves - and leave a good impression on others?

Burnout is characterised by physical and emotional exhaustion - usually as a result of too much work. Many people experience burnout without even realising it, and only know something’s wrong when their symptoms become severe enough to significantly interfere with their work and family life. How at risk of burnout are you, and what can you do to help yourself?

How often have you wished you could really help someone in crisis, instead of offering well-meant, but ultimately useless advice? With a little basic training, you can learn to listen, provide support and offer real guidance to people in need.

Whether you apply the skills learnt in your home community, at work, through your church or simply within your social circle, you can offer a valuable, supportive service that makes a positive contribution towards helping individuals overcome emotional hardship and issues.

This course will equip you with the skills you need to help make a difference in people’s lives.

Presence is that enigmatic, “can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it” quality that some people simply have. They walk into a room and immediately command attention – without saying anything!

Presence is made up of a number of things – the most important of which is confidence. The funny thing about confidence is that, even if you don’t feel it, you can pretend to feel it, and by pretending to feel confident, you actually start to feel confident. I call this “fake it ‘til you make it!” And the best way to fake it is with your non-verbal behaviour - how you use your voice and your body language.

Anyone can learn to use both their verbal and non-verbal language to cultivate presence and appear confident. This course will show you how.

Our ability to talk is one of the things that makes us unique as a species, and most people say their first words when they are barely a year old. Why then, when talking is something we’ve been doing since infancy, do we so often fail to communicate effectively as adults?

The truth is, while talking may come naturally, actual communication is a skill which we need to learn in order to do it properly.

Conflict in itself is not bad. Knowing how to deal with it, is what counts. If we know how to cope with conflict, we will learn to be less fearful of it, and so not try to avoid it. This creates healthier, more harmonious relationships.

This course teaches you the fundamental skills and attitudes you need to deal with conflict and understand that, contrary to popular belief, dealing with disagreement or conflict is far more important to a relationship than not having disagreement or conflict at all.

Think of the last time you were criticised … you may have done many things well, but the criticiser chose to pick on the one area where you made a mistake, ignoring your good actions or behaviour. This is upsetting, difficult to hear and hard to act upon. How often have you been the one that gives that sort of criticism? The one who breaks down, instead of builds up.

This course explains the difference between negative and positive criticism and provides guidelines for giving and receiving constructive feedback so that you can build relationships - and in the workplace, increase productivity.