How You Benefit
The better your skills, the greater your impact.
Our ability to create growth and opportunity — for ourselves, our team, and others — hinges on our communication skills.
Most people think they have better communication skills than they actually do. It’s not that their skills aren’t good; it is that they have no idea how much more is possible. Advanced skills consistently produce more constructive interactions, and give rise to greater opportunities for creativity, growth, teamwork, and connection.
These skills separate effective leaders from the rest.
Why it matters
On a day-to-day basis we operate in a world of difference, both seen and hidden. Usually we ignore it, confront it, or pull back from it. Sometimes we even miss it completely.
Our workshops take participants beyond being polite and attentive to that which is truly transformative. Participants learn to see what was previously invisible, and they gain a greater understanding of the deeper intricacies of how we perceive and understand each other.
The more you understand the inner workings of interactions, the more far-reaching and positive your impact will be.
“Leadership is, at root, about understanding and managing our internal experience.”
Sheila Ramsey, Barbara Schaetti, Gordon Watanabe
Testimonial
“The Engaging with Difference® (EWD) workshop deepened and broadened both my understanding and practices for effective communication. I consider myself an excellent communicator already, and this class showed me that there is always room to improve. Moreover, I learned that the key factor for this growth and mastery is self-awareness and self-regulation.
The concepts, skills, and practices taught in this class should be incorporated in general education starting in elementary school and onward through all manner of graduate studies. We humans create our world first and foremost through communication and relationship. EWD teaches the essential skills to make a positive difference in any realm.”
— Cathy Cheng, physician
Build essential skills
At SVKI, we structure your learning as a set of building blocks so that with practice, what starts out as a new tool becomes an embedded skill, and eventually an intuitive way to engage with difference.
How you benefit from higher-level communication skills:
• Have more satisfying relationships
• Express your ideas more clearly and inclusively
• Move projects along faster and more smoothly
• Increase opportunities for creative ventures
• Feel less stressed by challenging interactions
Testimonial
“In these times of extreme polarization, when many people fear that the very fabric of society is imperiled and the future of democracy is itself in doubt, is there any more urgent need than to find ways to bridge the divide that separates us? Sharon Kristjanson’s workshop, Engaging with Difference®, is designed to develop personal leadership skills, without which the ability to navigate partisan or cultural differences in a constructive and collaborative way is not achievable. I was startled — and delighted — to learn so much about myself. I expect to use the tools that I learned for the rest of my life. In an ideal world, everyone should have the opportunity to take this workshop.”
— Madeline Turci, political organizer/retired investment banker