Soft Skills. Complete upgrade of your skills - course RUB 19,890. from Synchronization, training 3 months, Date December 5, 2023.

Block 1 - How to develop Soft Skills

We pump up emotional intelligence and critical thinking, fight manipulation and stress

Emotional intellect
It can be difficult for us to recognize and manage our emotions, to put ourselves in the shoes of others, and to respond correctly to the words of others. Emotional intelligence is responsible for all this, which is no less important in life than a high IQ. At the lecture we will find out how to develop emotional intelligence and how to use it to move up the career ladder and establish personal and work relationships.

Creative thinking
How to furnish an apartment? Where is the best place to organize a presentation? What project should you suggest to your boss? It is difficult to think outside of patterns: it is easier for the brain to follow a known path than to invent something new. During the lecture we will look at creative thinking from a psychological point of view and learn how to boost creativity

Critical thinking
In the era of fake news and post-truth, people are replacing facts with opinions and logic with appeals to emotions. Critical thinking is a set of skills that help you catch such mistakes, analyze everything you are told, and protect yourself from deception and manipulation. We will learn how to develop these skills in the lecture. We will also find out what cognitive distortions and heuristic rules are.

Effective communication
Many conflicts do not occur because of incorrectly selected arguments and formulations. Often the interlocutor is simply not ready for rational communication and unconsciously plays a manipulative game. The transactional-analytical model of communication by Eric Byrne and his followers helps to recognize such a game and resist it. We will study it in lecture, and also find out how to build a dialogue with an interlocutor who thinks in prejudices.

Healthy self-confidence
Assertiveness is the ability to regulate one’s behavior and be responsible for one’s actions, regardless of the opinions of other people. It sounds easy, but in reality we often forget about our desires in order to gain the approval of friends and colleagues. At the lecture we will learn how to avoid this, and find out what healthy self-esteem is and how to become more self-confident.

Stress management
Stress is a useful invention of evolution: it once helped our ancestors survive in battle with a predator and adapt to difficult conditions. But our psyche was not ready for the advent of social networks, public transport and a pandemic: constant background stress turned from a friend into an enemy. At the lecture we will learn how stress mechanisms work and how they can be regulated.

Block 2 - Psychology of communication

In 5 lessons we will learn to effectively convey our thoughts, build boundaries and communicate without conflicts.

Learning to understand what motivates people
Sometimes the dialogue does not go well and it seems that the interlocutor does not hear us at all. And often it’s all about his ego state. In this lesson, we will figure out what this phenomenon is and understand how the mental states of the Parent, Adult and Child determine a person’s thoughts, feelings and behavior during communication. We’ll also learn how to determine what ego state your interlocutor is in and how to find the key to effective communication with him.

Learning to resist manipulation
Hurtful hints, devaluation and hidden threats are all typical manipulations that interlocutors use to draw us into a psychological game and impose their will. During the lesson we will understand how the manipulation works and understand the Karpman triangle. We will also learn to resist manipulation and get out of the game.

Learning nonviolent communication
How to express dissatisfaction without threats and insults? And how to achieve what you want without resorting to manipulation? In this lesson we will find answers to these questions and learn the principles of nonviolent communication. We will understand how to build communication and not spoil relationships, we will learn to clearly formulate requests, openly communicate our emotions and communicate in such a way as to effectively get out of critical situations.

Learning to accept criticism and apologize competently
Sometimes we overreact to criticism. For example, we take feedback about our work as criticism of our personality. In this class we will learn how to benefit from criticism, cope with shame and accept feedback. We’ll also understand why apologies can also be toxic.

Learning to assert personal boundaries and say no
Sometimes even a neutral statement from the interlocutor makes us angry. Why does this happen and what to do about it? In this lesson we will answer these questions and learn to understand when the interlocutor violates our boundaries, and when we overthink ourselves. We will also understand what to do if our borders are really violated from the outside.

Unit 3 - Critical Thinking

Learn to analyze information and form your own point of view

How we perceive information and unconsciously distort it
We live in a world of our own ideas. And no matter how hard we try, we cannot obtain absolutely objective information about the world - something somewhere is still distorted. In this lesson we will learn what thinking mistakes we make every day. Let's understand what cognitive distortions, heuristic rules and the framing effect are.

How to Avoid Logical Fallacies
To learn to reason correctly and not make logical errors, it is important to follow the method of deduction. In this lesson we will learn to avoid contradictory reasoning. Let's understand how to highlight the essential and abstract from the secondary. And let's understand the concept of logical consequence.

How to find creative solutions to problems
The world around us is constantly changing and requires us to find new ways to solve problems. But how to find these methods and how to choose the best one among them? The induction method will help. Find out how it works and how to use it in class! Let's learn to recognize non-obvious problems and understand how to make informed decisions.

What makes a message, text or statement persuasive
To think critically, you need to correctly understand and evaluate the arguments in a dispute. We will develop this skill in this lesson. Let's learn how to build arguments and test their strength. Let's understand the difference between an argument and an explanation, learn to criticize ourselves and respond to the criticism of others.

How the form of information presentation affects the attitude towards it
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion without relying on logical judgments. And in order to master critical thinking, it is very important to learn to recognize rhetorical devices in someone else’s speech and use them effectively in your own. In this lesson we will see how rhetorical devices work and how they influence us. And let’s find out the difference between an objective and a subjective view of the world.

How to distinguish facts from opinions and recognize fake news
We live in a post-truth world - when in any dispute, appeal to emotions and authority is more important than facts. In this lesson we will learn how fact-checking works and learn how to verify information. We will learn how the constant repetition of the same thing strengthens people's conviction in these ideas and we will understand how the Internet limits our access to information.

Unit 4 - Argumentation: how to convince people

Learn to hear your interlocutor and convey your idea convincingly

Learning to understand your interlocutor
Often, especially in oral communication, we forget to think about the feelings of the other person. We don’t have time to understand what he wants from us and our communication with him. But without this it is difficult to avoid conflicts and come to a constructive dialogue. During the lesson, we will understand what cooperative dialogue is, learn to determine the goals of the conversation and identify value systems.

Choosing words
It is not enough to understand the purpose of the dialogue - it is important to construct the speech so that the other person listens to you and understands. In this lesson we will learn how to build cooperative phrases and achieve the desired result. Let's get acquainted with the Aristotelian triad, and also find out how not to offend your interlocutor and what requirements you should always make of yourself during a conversation.

Building strong arguments
The goal of this lesson is to understand how argumentation works and how to come up with a compelling argument. We will also talk about criticism: what it is like, how to anticipate it and how to respond to it.

We read tricks and manipulations
Consciously or not, we sometimes use different tricks to achieve what we want. Our interlocutors do the same. This always complicates the dialogue, and sometimes leads to obvious conflicts. During the lesson we will discuss how not to fall into manipulation and recognize incorrect arguments in a conversation.

Build conversation tactics
In the final lesson we will discuss strategy and tactics. Let's learn to plan an argument, anticipate criticism and take into account the moves of the interlocutor. Let's look at the tricks that can be used to influence our opponent and help him accept our position.

Oratory

This is a master class. Classes will be held in small groups. Most of the course is practice. Therefore, it is important to attend classes and not watch them recorded.

Diction
Learning to pronounce difficult words without hesitation

Theory:

• what prevents us from speaking well,
• when you need to go to the dentist to correct your speech,
• how exercises can correct speech defects.

Practice:

• We learn to tense and relax the muscles of the speech apparatus. For the exercises you will need a pencil or cork.

Clamps
Relieving stress during performances

Theory:

• what are psychological and physical pressures,
• why stress prevents us from speaking,
• how to stop worrying.

Practice:

• We learn psychological techniques to relieve stress and do exercises that will help relax the facial muscles.

Breathing: part 1
Learning to speak in one breath

Theory:

• what does it mean to “breathe with your belly” and why is it necessary,
• how breathing will be different when we stand, sit and lie,
• why can you hear the actor even when he speaks in a whisper?

Practice:

• We learn to make sure that there is enough breath for a phrase. During the class, you will need to lie on the floor and place an object, such as a pillow, on your stomach.

Breathing: part 2
Working on the right deep voice

Theory:

• what muscles work during diaphragmatic breathing,
• how does posture affect the voice?
• what is air venting and air intake and why is it needed.

Practice:

• We do exercises for beautiful free speech. This time we'll be doing push-ups against a wall, so you'll need a wall and non-slip shoes.

Voice: part 1
Relieving tension from ligaments

Theory:

• which causes the voice to sound higher than usual in the recording,
• why is speaking in ligaments harmful and difficult,
• how to hold the attention of interlocutors and listeners using your voice.

Practice:

• We do morning exercises for the voice and exercises that will help “speak on support.”

Voice: part 2
Learning to speak loudly and for a long time

Theory:

• how to speak loudly without tearing your ligaments,
• what techniques will help you talk for hours and not get tired,
• how to direct the sound so that you are heard at the other end of the street.

Practice:

• We learn voice training exercises, practice shouting correctly and find out why it is important.

Eloquence
Learning to express thoughts quickly and clearly

Theory:

• how to expand your vocabulary,
• what to do if a word slips out of your head,
• how to speak without hesitation, long pauses and parasitic sounds.

Practice:

• We do improvisation exercises. With the help of games we learn to speak quickly, emotionally and accurately.

Emotions
Let's train to be more persuasive

Theory:

• how the body helps express emotions,
• why is it sometimes useful to make faces,
• how to give words the right emotional coloring.

Practice:

• We learn to put a variety of meanings into the phrase “I love you.” We do exercises that will reveal the full palette of your emotions and teach you to express your feelings and understand others.