Traditional education systems world-wide only teach language skills (generally focused on learning grammar and vocabulary with a bit of oral / aural skills included) in schools & universities, they rarely teach communication skills based on a proven model of communication to all the students, for that reason, communications skills training is imperative for people who wish to communicate effectively with everyone.
In Brownlee & Associates we sincerely believe that the key to achieving effective communication is that elegant and effective communicators understand that there is a range of elements and variables that need to be taken into account when communicating with other people. Every person is different and requires a form of communication that is right for them. For that reason, the personal behaviour of all our staff, and our attitude in training our students or working as mediators, is based on the following presuppositions of Neuro Linguistic Programming. While we realize that these presuppositions are not “carved in stone” and infallible, we follow them until someone shows that one, or more of them, are not applicable to him.
People respond to their map of reality, not to reality itself.
It is now widely recognize that everyone has a different map of reality based on their own personal experience, education, culture, mental filters, age, etc., and that everyone responds according to their map of reality that does not necessarily have to agree with that of other people. What appears logical or reasonable for one person is often perceived in a totally different manner by someone else. In our courses, we teach our trainees how to identify and understand their own map of reality as well as a range of techniques to identify and understand the maps of reality of other people so that they can expand and, if necessary, change these maps of reality thereby helping their interlocutors to understand that they do, indeed, have much more liberty of action in any situation than they originally thought.
In any system, the element with the greatest flexibility is the one which controls the system.
To increase the efficiency of, and control over, communication, it is vital that at least one of the people involved in the communication has a range of “tools” and techniques available to help him or her overcome the blocks that arise. This high grade of flexibility is what permits an elegant communicator to reach his objective in the most effective manner and distinguishes him from a poor or mediocre communicator. For this reason, the teaching material designed & used by Brownlee & Associates are focused on creating & developing flexibility in our trainees and is one of the distinguishing characteristics of courses offered by our company.
If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten.
Many people are resistant to change or are afraid to try or do something new or unknown. . However, they are unhappy with the results that they are continually getting in different situations in their professional or personal lives. While we recognize that it is difficult to break these habits of a lifetime, these habits are preventing the person from achieving the success that they deserve and therefore need to be changed for other habits more conducive to success so that the person can maximize their professional or personal development in the most appropriate manner.
The courses offered by Brownlee & Associates are designed to subtly illustrate the defects of the old habits prior to installing new ones that help the trainee to achieve the desired level of success.
It is better to have options than not have them.
Many people are convinced that they have no choice in their lives. This implies that they feel that their lives are not their own – they are always controlled by others. Whether it is caused by education, training, the culture or whatever cause, they are incapable of perceiving the options and choices available to them. Our philosophy is that there are always options available – some may be nicer, easier, cheaper, etc., than others, but there are ALWAYS options available. The only problem is to choose the option that is the most appropriate at this time. An integral component of our courses is the creation and reinforcement of the perception that there are always choices available and the teaching of the techniques necessary to identify the options available and the creation of new options.
People always choose the best option available at that particular moment.
It is well known that the imposition of ideas often leads to a rejection of these ideas. In presentations, negotiations, etc., it is vital that the exquisite communicator is capable of not only constructing, showing and “selling” the options available to his audience, but he is also able do it in a manner which make it clear that the best option for the audience is the one desired by the communicator. There ARE a range of techniques available to help our interlocutors reach the “right” decision for them – Brownlee & Associates teach them in each course.
Anyone can do anything.
If one person can do something, any other person can also learn how to do it. It might take time or an extra effort to learn how to do it, but it can be done. We believe that the only thing that limits a person is the person himself. For that reason, we believe that, in general, people have all the resources that they need within them to do whatever they want to do. All they need is training, subconscious installation and practice. All of the teaching material used by Brownlee & Associates is designed to ensure that the trainees use both the logical and emotional hemispheres of the brain simultaneously and continuously thereby ensuring a conscious learning and, more importantly, a subconscious installation of the material & techniques that is even more effective.
Any task can be done by any person, if we break it down into elements that are sufficiently small enough for that person.
Our teaching philosophy is based on the fact that people learn different things, at different speeds, at different times, in different ways. Therefore the teaching material, methods, and trainers must take these differences into account, not only during the “theoretical” part of the course, but also during the “practical” or practice stages. The material used in courses given by Brownlee & Associates is segmented into elements of different sizes designed to ensure that all trainees learn effectively.
If what you are doing isn’t working, try anything else.
This presupposition is closely related to the concept of flexibility. If what you are doing is not working, do not simply keep repeating it, expecting it to suddenly “work” because it won’t! . If you have a range of different skills or techniques, you can elegantly and continually keep changing methods until you find the one that works in this specific situation with this specific person.
There is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback.
For us in Brownlee & Associates, it is vital that people understand that there is no such thing as “FAILURE”, there is only feedback. In our courses, no trainees can fail, every success or “failure” serves to show what is being done correctly or incorrectly and is therefore a method of learning. Once a person knows their weak points, they are in a position to work to improve them. All of the trainees of Brownlee & Associates receive FREE follow-up and support for three months after the training (by telephone, fax, e-mail, or personal visits) so that they can apply the training to their real world situation with all the support that they feel they need.
The meaning of your communication is the result that you receive, not what you hope to receive.
Frequently people complain that there has been a misunderstanding – that the other person has misunderstood their communication – the failure is always the other person, never the sender of the message!. We believe that if there is a failure in our communication, the cause has been on our part – we have not communicated with the other person in the method most appropriate for them. We accept the responsibility for the failure of the communication and then change our way of communicating to achieve our objectives. What is important in our communication is the result that we obtain, not what we hope to obtain. All of the courses given by Brownlee & Associates place emphasis on the effectiveness of the communication – Ensuring that the message that is sent is the same one that is received.
Resistance is a comment about the communicator.
The “Bottom Line” that encapsulates our philosophy is that :
If someone is incapable of convincing others it is because he does not have the skills, knowledge or flexibility necessary to do so and this failure is a valid comment about the person.
We can not blame other people for our own failures in interpersonal communication.
In Brownlee & Associates, our principal objective is that the trainees who attend our courses learn how to overcome the resistance of others in ways that are elegant, “ecologically” appropriate for the person (so that he feels comfortable using the techniques), respectful of the ideas, beliefs, emotions and perceptions of the other person. To ensure that we achieve our objective, we have a small group of highly trained and motivated professionals available to help our clients reach, and pass, their objectives.
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