Conference Agenda  | Presenters | General Information | Obtain a Brochure | Be an Exhibitor | Register

One-day
Conference for
Office Professionals
Communicating with
Skill, Style, Credibility & Influence
and
Taking Control of Your Workday
and Your Stress

With Sessions for New & Experienced Office Pros!

Thursday, April 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., CRN 392212
Sheraton Harborside Hotel
Portsmouth, New Hampshire

$199 if registered by April 13
($235 after April 13)

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Request a brochure to be mailed to you!

Register Now!

This Conference is designed for: office managers, executive assistants, administrative assistants at all levels, and other office professionals who want to expand and enhance their professionalism and administrative skills, and discover new ways to streamline their office procedures.

A number of concurrent sessions for new and experienced office professionals will be offered. Vendors providing services to office environments will be on hand to exhibit their products and services. This will be an excellent opportunity for office professionals to enhance their level of expertise in practical ways that will enable them to function at a higher level that will be personally more satisfying as well as beneficial to their companies and organizations.

Come away with practical tips and increased knowledge
that you can put to immediate use in your organization!

Conference Agenda

8:30-9:00 a.m.—Check-in and Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:30 a.m.—Concurrent Sessions

First Things First: Establishing Your Credibility
As an Office Professional, establishing credibility is the cornerstone of your effectiveness. People who are credible are better able to build relationships, control and manage their work, and get things done. What is credibility? How do you develop it? And just as important, who needs to believe you are credible? In this session you’ll discover how others define credibility. You’ll learn eight strategies for gaining the trust of your boss, internal customers, and key members of your organization. And you’ll see how important this is!.
Presenter: Lynne Richards (see bio below)

What Makes Them Tick?
How to Work Effectively with People
Who have a Different Personality than You
At the root of many customer and co-worker misunderstandings and conflicts are personality style differences. What we often imagine as another person trying to be difficult is really our inability to communicate and interact with them in a way that works for their personality style. The more skilled we are in recognizing and adapting to different personality styles, the more effectively we can establish rapport and work harmoniously with a broad spectrum of people. Because it reduces conflict, becoming skilled in this area reduces stress and frustration, thereby increasing job satisfaction. In this session, we’ll use one of the most popular personality style models used in business—the DISC profile. This model will enable you to recognize your interpersonal blind spots that create unnecessary conflict. It will also help you identify what approaches work best with different personality types.
Presenter: David Lee (see bio below)

10:30-10:45 a.m.—Break and Visit the Vendors

10:45 a.m.-Noon—Concurrent Sessions

Be the Ringmaster and Tame the Beast!
Take Control of Your Work Day
Do you often feel harried, stressed and exhausted at the end of your work day, with little progress made in completing your own “to-do-list”? Does it feel as if your workday has become an unruly beast with you racing to regain control? You are not alone. The first step in reclaiming your time and schedule is to define your “perfect” workday. What are your goals and priorities? How do you make sure that they are in line with your boss and the organization? In this session, we’ll discuss actions you can take that will you help put you back in control of your day. We’ll also talk about gaining the support from your boss (even if he/she is part of the problem). And those challenges that always pop up? We’ll discuss methods to overcome them. You’ll learn how you can employ the Three C’s of organizing to improve your productivity, reduce your stress, and increase your satisfaction with a job well done.
Presenter: Lynne Richards (see bio below)

Becoming a People Whisperer:
Learning the Language of Influence
Have you ever tried to “manage up” only to have your words fall on deaf ears? Have you ever had a great idea—one you knew would work—but others didn’t seem to realize it? Have you ever had to present at a meeting and felt like the audience wasn’t “into” you? Have you ever tried to give someone important feedback and all they did was get defensive? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you will find this session useful. You’ll learn what the most influential communicators know and do to get buy-in for their ideas. You’ll learn how to challenge people’s ideas and positions, without being challenging and confrontational. You’ll find that learning how to be more influential in your communication will not only help you become more effective at work, but also more satisfied in your personal life, because you’ll experience less conflict and more collaboration.
Presenter: David Lee (see bio below)

Noon-1:00 p.m.—Buffet Lunch & Networking

1:00-2:30 p.m.—Concurrent Sessions

“Put That in Writing!”
Composing Effective Emails
Have you ever received an email message that wasn’t really a message, but a puzzle? Have you ever become upset by what you took to be an abrupt, rude tone? You shouldn’t have to work to figure out what an email means—either its meaning or its tone. In the work arena, effective communication necessitates getting the right message to the right person, in the right manner. New technologies make communication easier and faster, but also more challenging and complex. And it’s easier for misunderstandings to occur or messages to miss their mark. This session will help you design effective emails that contain a clear, concise message and are sensitive to differences in audiences, including age and gender, the correct degree of formality that is appropriate, and the tone best suited to the communication.
Presenter:Tess George (see bio below)

Respectful Communicating—Where it All Begins
When people are asked what the major problem is in their workplace, a majority responds “Communications!” We all know that poor communication can become a primary source of tension in our workplaces. This session challenges longstanding beliefs about the most effective ways to interact. It invites participants to examine what has traditionally been accepted as proper communication in the workplace and questions the effectiveness of what most of us have been taught about the communicative process. It will focus on clear and respectful communication—how to communicate with others as you wish they would communicate with you!
Presenter:Gerri King(see bio below)

2:30-2:45 p.m. Break

2:45-4:00 p.m.—Concurrent Sessions

Your Secret Weapon: Persuasion
How to Present a Winning Argument
Do you need to persuade others to accept your ideas? Do you or your team disagree on the best business plan? To get others to buy in, you need a winning formula. This presentation will help you: develop the most persuasive message for your listeners; “sell” the idea effectively; listen to and overcome objections; win your listeners’ support; and maintain a good relationship in the process. You’ll get practical tips and techniques and hear real-life examples that will help you develop this crucial skill.
Presenter:Tess George (see bio below)

Taming Your Stress
There is a commonly held belief that stress is the result of hard work. But that’s not all there is to it. Stress is actually the result of working hard and not accomplishing what you want to accomplish. Sometime it’s not just hard work that leads to burnout, but the gap between what is expected and what is realistically possible. This session will discuss how you can distinguish between the possible and the unrealistic. We’ll also discuss approaches to dealing with stress to help you get more satisfaction from your work—and to feel successful.
Presenter:Gerri King (see bio below)

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About the Presenters

Tess George, M.A. in Speech Communication, is founder and principal of Speakwell, a communication training firm, focusing on communication skills in the workplace. She has taught a variety of communication classes at many colleges, including Penn State and UMass. With over 20 years’ experience in training, teaching, singing, acting and storytelling, she helps participants to reach their communication goals.

Gerri King, Ph.D., is a social psychologist and organizational consultant to corporations, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and educational and healthcare institutions. She works throughout the U.S., Asia, and Canada with a focus on Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategic Planning, Leadership & Supervisory Training, Conflict Resolution, Managing Change, and Enhancing Teams. Based in Concord, NH, she is a founding partner of Human Dynamics Associates.

David Lee, the founder of HumanNature@Work, and helps employers improve employee engagement, customer service, and morale, through his work as a trainer, consultant, conference presenter, and coach, both domestically and abroad. An internationally recognized thought leader, he is author of over 60 articles and book chapters on employer branding, onboarding, and performance-related topics published in trade journals and books in the U.S., Europe, India, Australia, and China. In addition to his research and work with organizations, his methodology draws from a wide range of scientific disciplines including cognitive neuroscience, anthropology, trauma and resilience research, and more.

Lynne Richards, MBA, is an author, founder of Leading Generations, a training and leadership development firm, and a member of the National Speakers Assn. She specializes in helping people develop their leadership, supervisory, and training skills. With over 20 years’ experience in management and training, she brings a wealth of hands-on, practical experience to the classroom, providing clients with workshops on leadership, supervision, communication, and training design and delivery..

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General Information & How to Register

Location
The conference will be held at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in the heart of downtown Portsmouth. It is located at 250 Market Street. Free parking is available at the hotel parking lots.

Cost and Refund Policy
The cost of the conference is $199 if registered by April 13 ($235 after April 13). Cost includes lunch, breaks, and materials. Refunds, less a $25 processing fee, will be given if written cancellation is received at least 10 business days prior to the conference.

Overnight Accommodations
Overnight accommodations are not included in the conference fee; however, you may reserve space at the Sheraton by calling (888) 627-7138.

CEUs
Participants will receive .65 CEUs (continuing education units), attesting to your professional development.

Lifetime Learning Tax Credit
Participation in lifetime learning activities may be eligible for a credit on your U.S. federal income tax. Please save your registration confirmation as a receipt and talk to your tax advisor if you think you may be eligible.

How to Register (Refer to CRN 392212)

• On the Web. Click Here to register online with your VISA, MC, or E-check information.

• By phone. Call (603) 862-7380 with VISA, MasterCard, Debit Card, or E-Check.

• By fax. Download a pdf of the registration form. and fax it with credit card information to (603) 862-7381.

• By mail. Download a pdf of the registration form and mail with your payment to UNH Professional Development & Training, Stoke Hall, Room 14E, 11 Garrison Avenue, Durham, NH 03824.

Forms of Payment
• Check, E-check, or money order (payable to UNH)
• VISA, MasterCard, Debit Card

Be an Exhibitor!
If your company or organization would like to be an exhibitor at this conference, please contact us at (603) 431-5674 or send an email to: lac@cisunix.unh.edu

Download a Brochure
Click Here

For More Information
About Registration: Call (603) 862-7380
About the Conference: Call (603) 862-4344

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