Build Influence and Presence

Coaching Training for Communication Professionals

Be valued as a strategic partner, not a tactical function

Become a thinking partner

This course will help you develop your confidence and presence, enabling you to move from a tactical to a more strategic relationship with your clients.

&

Grow from the inside out

You'll learn how to listen actively, ask great questions, and provide support and challenge to your clients. By staying present and giving balanced feedback, you'll be able to challenge effectively and help the leaders you work with flourish.

Do you need to influence and build presence?

YES! PR and Communications Professionals, the world of work calls us to evolve.

Technology like AI, changing climate and political landscapes mean that we need to develop the skills that help us to bring strategic value to the organisations we work for. A skills upgrade is due. Here are some of the reasons why coaching skills are essential for us to move from tactical to strategic, advisor to partner and do it with confidence.

Build your presence and confidence

Whether we have the seat at the table or not, how we show up matters. When you are present and clear in your intentions, you can be more confident to coach leaders to think and make better decisions, that also helps us to do our job better.

Uncover the values and motivations that drive our leaders decisions and be a thinking partner to design communications from a deeper level of partnering.

Enter into conversations with confidence and presence.

Move from tactical to a more strategic relationship

You might be a great writer, you can craft a strategic communication plan, you can see the outcomes that your business needs and the outcome that great communication can achieve. Often we continue to give our great advice, but it falls on deaf ears, your business leader wants you to make their slides “pretty’’.

But maybe we need to stop advising and start coaching. Lead with questions, not advice.

Learning Outcomes

Here's what we will aim to achieve:

  • Learn about your self and your style, practice how to reflect and learn to help you identify areas for improvement and enhance your strengths. Knowing yourself better, creates more space for the stakeholders you with coach.

  • You'll develop your listening skills and presence, learning about the power of asking great questions and practicing using simple coaching models. By creating a coaching space, you'll be able to establish trust and rapport with your clients and help them achieve their goals.

  • Learn communication coaching techniques to coach senior leaders in the effective use of storytelling, conversation, and listening. You'll also learn how to support exploration of their values, motivations, and beliefs, helping them to become more confident and competent communicators.

  • You'll understand how to coach behaviours and habits, both seen and unseen, to enable change and influence. You'll learn how to support leaders to develop their skills in storytelling, conversation, and listening, enabling them to explore their values, motivations, and beliefs.

  • By the end of our course, you'll be able to provide feedback, challenge, and coaching to support your leaders to grow and become more effective communicators. You'll also develop your own leadership style, allowing you to partner with your senior leaders in a strategic and authentic way.

More information about Coaching Skills for Comms Professionals

Video Block
Double-click here to add a video by URL or embed code. Learn more

  • This is a skill building course so you will learn some theory, but most importantly, we want you to put those coaching skills into practice. The course is run in small groups of no more than 10 people so that you can have the change to reflect and apply the content to your own working relationships and practice in a safe environment.

    Online courses are fully online via zoom.

    Every three hour session is an interactive and engaging training workshop designed to help you learn and use the coaching skills that take you from being a great communication professional to a leader with presence and influence in your profession.

    We will learn from each other through discussion and explore different approaches to coaching.

  • This course is for you if you are a communication professional looking to take your skills to the next level.

    Especially if you find yourself in demanding tactical conversations when you know in your professional experience that a more strategic approach and relationship is better.

    The course is designed for PR and Communication professionals at any point in your career if you work with senior leaders and stakeholders. If you are looking to develop as a leader, build and use coaching skills and grow a more strategic and trust based relationship with your stakeholders.

  • Week 1: Your Role and Your Relationships
    We start by exploring the role of a coach and your relationship with your stakeholders. You'll gain insights into different leading and coaching styles and discover which style works best for you in different situations. We learn what coaching really means and how it differs from mentoring, consulting, and therapy. You'll learn how to listen actively, build rapport, and create a safe space for your stakeholders to share the thoughts and feelings that drive their actions.

    Week 2: Thinking Space
    In this session, we'll take a deeper focus on creating thinking space for your stakeholders. You'll learn how to ask powerful questions that provoke thought and encourage reflection. We'll also explore the importance of presence in coaching and how to create a supportive environment for your stakeholders. We'll introduce you to a couple of models of coaching that you can use to structure your coaching sessions and help your stakeholders achieve their goals.

    Week 3: Coaching Above and Below the Surface
    In this session, we'll look at how coaching can support leaders in building their storytelling, conversation, and listening skills. You'll learn how to help your stakeholder uncover their values, intentions, motivations, and limiting beliefs, which can have a profound impact on their leadership style. We'll also explore the concept of coaching above and below the surface and how to support your stakeholders in creating lasting change.

    Week 4: Changing the Game
    In this final session, we'll focus on feedback, both giving and receiving. You'll learn how to provide constructive feedback that helps your stakeholders grow and develop. We'll also explore the coaching style of leadership and how you can use your coaching skills to become a more effective strategic partner for your stakeholders. By the end of this session, you'll have the tools and techniques you need to take your coaching skills to the next level and become a trusted advisor and coach to the leaders you work with.

Chartered institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Members

You can make it count. This course has been awarded 20 CDP points.
You will receive a certificate at the end of the course.

Spring 2025- UK Blended

This course is taught in a blended learning method. UK venue TBC

Fri 7 March @09:30- 12:30 (3hr online)

Fri 14 March @09:30- 16:30 (6hr live venue)

Fri 21 March @09:30- 12:30 (3hr online)

Two half days on-line and a full day long session will offer you quality time to build up your coaching skills and practice in a calming and supportive workshop space in the UK.

Venue TBC | Price in GBP

£750.00 +VAT
=£907.50

Summer 2024 - Online

This course is a three-week learning journey gives you two half day modules and one full day session. For your convenience this is an online session. You can relax at home or fit it into your working week and have time in between each module to practice and grow.

Fri 30 August @09:30- 12:30 (3hr)

Fri 6 September @09:30- 16:30 (6hr)

Fri 13 September @09:30- 12:30 (3hr)

10 spaces only | Price in EUROs

€750.00 +VAT
= €907.50

Bespoke In-House Courses

Consider an in-house course for your team

It can be more practical and economical to run an in-house course.

  • Build skills and competencies across your communication /PR organisation and have common intentions and language as a team.

  • Discuss real life triggers and challenges.

  • Be there for each other through peer support and accountability partnerships.

  • Enable the function to mature and develop more consistently strategically as a whole.

  • Maintain individual growth and development by creating a coaching culture in the team.

  • Upgrade the emotional intelligence of the team as a whole and build psychological safety as a team.

  • "Chaya designed a half-day masterclass on Coaching Skills for Comms Pros for my team of 10, all of whom are experienced Comms Pros advising their own management teams. One of the main issues we face is moving from a tactical role to a more advisory role and encouraging leaders to take a more strategic view of their communications. Chaya’s course covered several coaching models including the MBS Coaching Model, how to coach ‘below the surface’, and extremely useful tips to change the conversation with leaders. We were immediately able to put these tools to good use in our roles and left the course with new information to help us work better with leaders.”

    CLIENT

  • "I enjoyed working with Chaya and valued her insights, energy, and collaboration. She improved communication effectiveness through simplicity, audience awareness, and commitment to purpose. Chaya can be counted on as a trusted professional partner in leading change"

    HEAD OF ENGINEERING

  • “Chaya is a reliable professional who brings to the table strong strategic communications advise and pragmatic / agile tactical focus. I have enjoyed very much working with her!”

    MANAGER EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Meet your trainer

Hi - Hello, I am  Chaya, Founder and Director of Humanly, here is a little about me and my experience.

Me in Public Relations (PR)

I am a Chartered PR Practitioner with 20+ years experience, 13 years of those years, in the energy industry. I work with brilliant minds who need support on softer/human skills. Often these are technical experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries. My experience spans; sustainability, energy, engineering, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, luxury brands and hospitality.

In-house, I started to train leaders in communication skills in 2010  blended this into support and coaching for senior leaders. I noticed the strategic shift in my work, the richer relationships and  effective outcomes from coaching. I finally went independent and trained as an executive coach in 2019.

I am one of the trainers for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) , I run two courses; The psychology of PR and High Performance Leadership. I am also Past Vice Chair of CIPR Inside committee, and a member of the CIPR diversity and inclusion network. I worked with a team of volunteers to research and create a report on Line manager communication. As a supporter of the PR community, I recently won a volunteers award in 2022 to recognise me for my work to build an inclusive and resilient community.

Me in Coaching and Leadership Development

I founded Humanly, a leadership development consultancy in 2019 where we train, coach and consult on the soft skills needed for human leadership and communication. I lead a diverse, global team of six associate coaches spread across the UK, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

But I started coaching in-house. I had developed a global communication skills coaching programme and delivered the train-the-trainer to more than 90 communication professionals. So I knew that coaching came naturally. With 10 years of training and coaching experience under my belt, and then stepped into coach training at Barefoot Coaching (they don’t pay me to promote them) I felt like I was in the right place, with ‘my people’ and the skills I learned were a gamechanger!

I work with corporate clients to put training and coaching together to create leadership development programme. These include; Leadership for high performance, Trust, engagement and inclusion, New leader and manager, Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Systemic Coaching, Listening and difficult conversations and Communicating through Change.

  • "Chaya has a wealth of experience and was able to listen to our issues as well as answer our questions. The course itself was an engaging mix of listening, sharing and breakout work. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who would like to move from a more tactical to strategic space in their role." — Bonnie Khan, Communications and Engagement Lead, Shell IT Services and Operations.

    Bonnie Khan, Communications and Engagement Lead, Shell IT Services and Operations.

  • "I was considering undertaking my coaching qualification before I signed up for Chaya's course, but this was exactly what I was looking for relating coaching skills to my PR practice. I learnt so much about myself, as well as coaching! And met some brilliant people. As a result of this course I am shifting my business model to a more strategic level, to provide better counsel to leaders and increase the impact my PR practice delivers for their business."

    Emma Duke, Strategic PR Consultant

  • “Thank you for taking me on this journey beyond the day-to-day tasks of communication. I learned so many skills for working more effectively with colleagues and leaders. I loved getting to know myself better, and filling my toolbox with practical and positive tools. Highly recommended!”

    Friedel Grant, Senior Internal Communications Advisor

  • “A great course, a safe space, an active group, and a wonderful instructor. Thank you for all the love and care you've clearly put into this. I found it very inspiring for my work!”

    Anonymous

  • “Chaya's Coaching for PR and Comms Professionals provides practical tools that you can use in a range of everyday situations, all underpinned by the relevant theory.”

    Dan Holden, Communication Consultant, Coach and Mentor