Special Offerings

At monthly meetings and through special programs, SPC members gain access to current information on industry trends, as well as skills and resources they can use in their work.

Free professional development seminars and podcasts; SPC has partnered with the Coalition of Cultural and Intercultural Leadership (CCIL), a joint program of Fitchburg State University and Clark University, to help make CCIL’s programming more widely available.

Seminars, Blogs and Discussions

Networking: Leveraging Social Media with Traditional Means: Social Media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, have been all the rage and they only get bigger and bigger. But how do we really use them to our advantages?

Podcasts

CCIL is producing monthly educational podcasts throughout the 2010-11 program year. Links to the podcasts are available here.. Topics include a range of communications topics, from communication strategies for leaders and developing intercultural awareness to power of questions and dialogic listening. Click to stream the podcast. Right-click to download the MP3 file.

box Lessons Learned

1. The first podcast is "Lessons Learned" by Luanne Proko, Chair of the Business Communications Department at Nichols College. In it, she discusses the value to businesses and organizations of conducting “Lessons Learned” events after the completion of a project or work engagement. She explains how to conduct an effective group debriefing, benefits of reflecting on the successes and mistakes of the project, and how to use the information gleaned as a guide for future projects. Oct. 10

What's Happening Developing Intercultural Awareness

2. "Developing Intercultural Awareness," (6.3 mb) presents ideas on how to think of intercultural relationships we encounter in a business setting. The guest this month is Ron Reidy, who has worked across the globe and provides insights into ways to think of culture. Nov. 10

What's Happening Benchmarking

3. "Benchmarking" (6.7 mb) Benchmarking is a term that has taken on significance as we lead organizations, plan projects, and assess our success. In this brief podcast we discuss the many facets of benchmarking and how to go about using benchmarking in your work to get results. Techniques related to two essential benchmarking methods, survey and interview, along with their pros and cons are also discussed. Dec.10

What's Happening Managing Conflict

4. "Managing Conflict" (6.7 mb) Conflict is an inevitable feature of living and the effective person learns how to manage conflict. Avoidance of conflict can only make a situation worse over time. Developing competencies to recognize conflict and move towards resolution is important in many ways. In professional situations the chance for conflict is likely to be greater due to the differences in meaning systems. This podcast will explore strategies to manage personal and particularly, workplace conflict effectively. Jan. 11