By Speaking with Persuasion, not Abrasion.

This course provides professionals with proven knowledge, practical skills, and examples of speech that increase influence in business interactions.
This course shares the essential elements needed to lay a solid foundation to build influence. From concept to example, we teach critical knowledge to leverage power, must-know methods that create impact, and techniques to deliver them easily and confidently. To round out the course, we cover common missteps to avoid while providing practical speaking methods, helping you maximize each opportunity.
This course provides vital insight into the building blocks of influence and how to use them to create leverage through verbal interactions while promoting your professional value.

Soft Skills Coach
I’m a CPA and seasoned career business analyst, applications developer, and project management professional with 25 years of progressive experience. Over my career, I’ve moved between employee and consulting roles providing a unique dual-sided perspective. I understand what it’s like to be an employee who wants to maximize their contribution and advance, as well as, a consultant who must be adept at engendering customer value using tools and experience. Today as an IT professional, I continue to competently use a variety of tools to promote customer value. However, technical skills are not enough; My career exposure has taught me a myriad of soft skills to effectively manage projects, facilitate meetings, present information, communicate verbally/in-writing, and lead teams of professionals. I now want to share my knowledge and experience with other professionals who seek to fortify their skills and sharpen their competitive advantage.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.