Areas of Expertise
Communication is context specific. Our different areas of expertise help you learn best practices in your unique context.
Building Your Personal Brand
Take control of your personal brand and reach strategic goals.
People already have a simplistic and limited vision of who you are and what you represent in your organization. This is your personal brand, and you should take control of it so that you can reach your strategic goals. Building your personal brand means creating a consistent and disciplined message about what matters to you and how people can count on you.
This assessment and training protocol takes participants through a conversation with a colleague in a different function with whom you need to collaborate. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Winning the Why,” “Disclosure,” and “Visioning Together".
Conflict Communication
Conflict in workplace relationships is unavoidable. We can help.
If approached constructively interpersonal and organizational research in conflict communication demonstrates that conflict can be constructive, lead to creative problem-solving, and improve organizational flourishing. If handled well, each new conflict is an opportunity to enhance commitment to the relationship and the organization.
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This assessment and training protocol takes participants through a performance conversation with a direct report in which they must deliver constructive criticism. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Relative Power”, “Relationship Valuation”, and “Improvisational Communication”.
Conversational Adaptation
A key factor in your success is having the ability to adapt messages quickly and appropriately.
Communication is an ongoing, dynamic process. The most carefully crafted statement will not land unless it is adapted specifically to the conversational partner or audience. As organizational members interact with increasingly varied stakeholders, their ability to adapt their messages quickly and appropriately to best connect with and persuade individual stakeholders is a key factor in their success.
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This assessment and training protocol assesses participants ability to effectively shift among conversational contexts – even in the same conversation. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to adapting to “Emotional Response Cues," “Questions and Concerns," and “Power Orientation”.
Data-Rich Communication
Adapt a technical presentation to a non-technical audience.
For people in highly technical fields like data science, communication is always an exercise in translation. The data cannot speak for themselves, especially to non-technical audiences. Data must be made to matter by applying principles of narrative storytelling to technical communication.
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This assessment and training protocol assesses participants ability to adapt a technical presentation for a non-technical audience of key stakeholders. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to adapting to “Audience Analysis," “Structuring a Narrative," and “Curating Data”.
Downshifting Conversation
Take advantage of time spent with clients outside of meetings.
Time spent with clients outside of official meetings presents a valuable opportunity to communicate the value proposition of your organization. Communicating in these contexts requires connecting with clients in a more personal, informal, and authentic manner.
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This assessment and training protocol takes participants through a conversation with a client who is waiting for her taxi after a daylong on-site meeting. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Growing Trust and Connection," “Generating Social Capital,” and “Inductive Storytelling”.
Executive Presence (C.L.A.D.)
Take control of your conversation.
Executive presence is like an ironclad armor that conveys strength, knowledge, experience, and credibility. It validates the speaker’s trustworthiness and value. The four-part C.L.A.D. framework distills the behaviors that, according to organizational, psychological, and communication research, most clearly convey executive presence to audiences.
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This assessment and training protocol takes participants through a conversation with a client who wants to learn more about how your organization can solve their unique problems. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Connect," “Leverage," “Advocate,” and “Deliver”.
Leveling Up
Our protocol will help emerging leaders cultivate the skills to perform as thought leaders.
Early-career professionals frequently join organizations in roles of limited influence. As they gain experience and responsibility, they must develop communication skills to match the increased visibility in the organization and community. Emerging leaders must specifically hone the skill of agonistic dialogue, the respectful examination and contestation of important decisions.
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This assessment and training protocol takes participants through a difficult conversation with a fellow leader about the possibility of firing an employee. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Problem Analysis," “Developing Interpretive Context,” “Anchoring in Values,” and “Taking Ownership”.
Negotiation
Develop tactics and strategies to help you achieve your desired outcome.
Negotiation is a perennial part of professional life. Compromise is required to find solutions when any given resource is scarce. Negotiation also requires careful communication of your position and decoding of the other party’s position.
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This assessment and training protocol is customized to the particular negotiation conversations common to your context. Participants must demonstrate behaviors related to “Audience Analysis," “Anticipating Resistance," “Goal Hierarchy,” and “Diverse Data”.
Finding Your North Star Strategy (OKR Consultations)
Learn the skills to accomplish long term goals
Vocable can help you turn ambitions into results.
The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) methodology is a collaborative strategy technique that charts the path to achieving your organization’s long-term goals.
Originating at Intel and used by companies such as Google and Netflix, OKR bridges your organization's vision (North Star) and mission by defining qualitative ambitions in terms of quantitative progress. It breaks down complex issues into a scaffolding of carefully chosen (and measurable) objectives in order to facilitate success and excellence.
Importantly, these tasks are delegated to individual teams and team members. This establishes a sense of ownership and emphasizes creativity and cooperation.
Vocable consultants will help your organization develop its North Star Strategy through directed individual prework, group discussions, working group and team leader coaching, and long-term follow-up.
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