Tag Archives: Colleen Clarke

NCCA Canada Toronto Event Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9th 2017

CONTACT: Mr. Ric Phillips, Executive Director, [email protected], 647-478-8612

NCCA Canada Hosted Innovative Toronto Event Connecting Communication Coaches With Small Business Entrepreneurs to Help Improve Business Communications

Toronto City Hall, October 13th 2017 — The key to successfully starting and growing a business is effective communications.  An entrepreneur or small business owner may have a great idea, but will not get much interest from anyone if they cannot share their vision, persuasively pitch, and clearly explain their products and services. There are professional coaches and trainers who focus on helping people improve their business communication skills, and they need a place and an organization to meet each other.

NCCA Canada proudly partnered with YEDI (York Entrepreneurship Development Institute) and the City of Toronto to co-host a half-day professional development and networking event at Toronto City Hall where professionals from various industries learned how to develop these vital business communication skills. Jason Easton, MPP Jeff Leal’s Chief of Staff for the Small Business in Ontario portfolio gave opening remarks on the importance of honing professional communications before NCCA President, speaker extraordinaire and body language expert Mark Bowden delivered a truly memorable keynote on persuasive non-verbal communication. NCCA Executive Director Ric Phillips then led an interactive learning workshop on the art of the quick pitch. This led to lunch and mini-workshops hosted by Colleen Clarke on the topic of how networking is really “telling, not selling” and Dr. Marat Ressin on clarifying a business vision. The half-day ended with a panel discussion on the trends in the coaching and learning & development industries.

“This was a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to quickly learn and implement the same day specific and very useful business communication skills, and then network with other business people and communication coaches who teach these skills,” said Co-Founder and Executive Director of NCCA Canada Ric Phillips.

This event was open to everyone and received praise for it’s innovative model from coaches, trainers, vendors and entrepreneurs.

“It was invigorating. To finally be in a community of communicators, swapping stories and ideas about the work we do, and to listen to such accomplished, interesting speakers was great. Thank you for seeing the need and for building a high quality base for us” said Eleanor James, Communication Coach/Trainer.

About NCCA Canada

NCCA (National Communication Coaching Association) Canada is a nationally registered non-profit organization that acts as a home for communication skills coaches, trainers and enthusiasts, providing professional development, networking and designation opportunities for its members.  NCCA also provides communication coach/trainer and training company designation standards, peer review and official designation lists, used for professional credentialing. The primary mission of NCCA is to contribute to the growth of personal and professional communication skills, both here and abroad.

Proof that Networking Works!

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I recently attended a Networking Seminar, hosted by the Pakistani Professionals Forum of Canada (www.ppfcanada.com) where the famous author/presenter/columnist Colleen Clarke (www.colleenclarke.com) was the guest speaker.

Now for me, this was an early Christmas gift, as I have been reading Colleen’s columns for 3 years now, and incorporating her articles into my coaching/teaching sessions whenever I help people with their employment skills, cover letters, resumes, interviewing techniques etc.

During group discussion at the seminar I had mentioned my opinion on how immigrants could better enter or deal with the Canadian professional workforce. Simply speaking, I suggested that there will be at least 3 cultures on the table: Canadian, Original or Mother Country, and Corporate Culture. So, which one is the easiest for everyone to find some common ground?

The International business culture for sure. Yes it is important that new Canadians understand why we love hockey and Tim Hortons, and why we think we are in some ways better than Americans, and why B.C. hates Ontario. And it is also important that the Canadians learn about other cultures, rituals and histories, especially those belonging to our new co-workers, bosses or clients. But the easiest starting point for anyone is the business or corporate culture of North America. This is the easiest transition for an immigrant.

So if you are a newcomer to Canada, make sure that you are learning how to write letters, memos and emails in our style. Make sure you are learning which expressions and idioms are acceptable. Make sure you are learning business etiquette on the simple things like how to shake hands with a smile and eye contact, how to negotiate without being perceived as too strong or too weak, how to make small talk with your co-workers at the water-cooler. We all agree that hard skills are not enough these days in Canada. We need excellent soft skills too.

Speaking of, after the seminar I approached Colleen to buy her book and chat once more, i.e. network! That evening she called me and interviewed me on my views previously mentioned in the seminar. We talked for 20 minutes and had great rapport. I believe she will cite me as a reference in an upcoming weekly article. I felt thankful that my ability to communicate my ideas in the seminar and face to face had paid off with a new, important contact. My story is more proof that effective professional communication skills are important for networking, for understanding, for success in business here.

Do you know anyone who is in need of small talk, rapport-building skills? If so, please direct them to my website (www.communicationcoach.ca) and let them know I offer free consultations.  🙂

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and let’s all have a bright, successful money-making New Year!