Module Three was a blend of personal empowerment and business savvy techniques.
This interactive module kicked off with a review of the “next steps” from the inspirational talk the learners attended online with Penny Bird. We gave the learners an opportunity to share their personal insights on the following concepts:
- iHero – who is your hero and what effect have they had on you?
- Passion – what is your real passion and how do you feel when you are doing it?
- Connect – When did you make a real connection with someone and what memories do you have?
- Open – When did you open your mind to something you thought was impossible?
- Say yes – when did you say yes without knowing if you could actually do it?
- See – mention an inspirational act you have seen by one of your team members
- All shapes and sizes – share the most random inspirational act by someone that you experienced
- Share – share something you did that inspired others to change and improve
The first hour of this session was spent listening to some incredible examples of these concepts and created real bonding amongst the learners.
The second hour was spent sharing modern guidelines for e-mails, including the etiquette of modern business writing. We share examples with the learners and gave them an opportunity to ask questions about the format, tone and writing practices for good e-mails.
The last two hours focused on stress management, with specific focus on maintaining a work/life balance during lockdown. This session was deeply personal to all the learners as explored the symptoms of anxiety and stress, and discussed ways to minimize the impact on everyday life. We shared many practical tips for mental and emotional health and also shared coping skills to balance the many roles they all have.
Our next session will teach powerful presentation skills and we will be preparing the learners for their final presentations to IIG in November. Already they are selecting their favorite topics to talk about as the aim of these presentations is for them to showcase their learning from these class sessions.
Feedback from students:
Jason Moody
Communication defined: – the imparting or exchange of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium. South Africa being on lockdown has influenced that we make use of Email, visual meetings and short messaging services on a regular. There are different ways of communication, writing being one of the oldest methods around; it is imperative that we write clear and direct messages to the intended party. Module 3 has created awareness in me that communication (specifically writing emails) is an important part of business and ensuring that our communication is clear and consistent. When we write a clear message this makes any task seamless and helps use save on the most important commodity – time. When your communication line is clear, direct and consistent your message will not get lost in translation.
Lereng Tsatsi
The session was interestingly interactive as it covered topics that many of us could resonate with. The segment that stood out for me was on Emotional intelligence (EQ). The discussion became significant as it encouraged self-introspection and mindfulness to my emotions towards both my personal and career life events. I discovered the imperativeness of being aware of my feelings as well as the ability to redirect disruptive impulses. COVID19 has exposed the importance of mental health and the conversation around EQ has enabled me to process and manage my emotions better and I’m grateful for that.
