OAFP 6005 - Engagement Tools for Leaders: Listen, Engage, Influence

This course builds participants' effectiveness as leaders and collaborators. Participants develop their ability to listen, engage and influence their audience, be it one person, a team or a full assembly. Unlike oratory art, the course focuses on speaking effectively, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between communicator and audience and the skillset needed to influence the audience in specifically intended ways. A competent speaker may retain his or her listener's attention but eliciting a specific emotion to influence another person requires a sophisticated skillset that is instrumental to effective leadership. For instance, a leader may need to ‘reassure' investors, ‘encourage' collaborators and inspire ‘new employees'. Participants will learn to master a large palette of intentions, or ‘tools' as we will refer to them. Students will learn a practice based on three steps: inner state, audience attention and tools. Through this practice, based on the Meisner acting technique, participants will develop an awareness of their audience, the flexibility to adapt their communication strategy in real time and the versatility to choose the most appropriate tool for their specific audience. Whether they pursue a career in corporate, political and/or academic fields, participants will learn to lead with an empowered, flexible mindset and with a purpose that is grounded in a human understanding of their audience. This facilitates their impact in key situations such as: pitching an idea, inspiring new policy, negotiating a deal, selling a product or service, managing a team, teaching a class etc. Students learn that their effectiveness during a meeting or presentation comes as much from careful preparation and strategy, as it does from in the moment presence, listening, and adaptation. A further learning outcome is self-awareness and growth. The course (1) enables students to unearth their beliefs that produce inhibiting or overpowering attitudes and patterns of behavior; and (2) provide them with the tools required to overcome such beliefs and shift their attitudes and patterns of behavior towards greater flexibility. Students' natural or ‘go-to' tools serve as our diagnostic tool to shed light on individual strengths, limiting patterns and opportunities for change. Through its acting framework and the instructor's supportive feedback, the course offers a safe and playful environment for students to shift their limiting beliefs and patterns towards a positive, inclusive and effective attitude. As personal strengths and opportunities are identified during the first half of the course, students focus in the remaining sessions on integrating new tools and behavior. Students naturally comfortable with hard tools - such as ‘to challenge', ‘to railroad' or ‘to accuse' – are invited to practice soft tools – such as ‘to enthuse' or ‘to flatter'. Students who shy away from hard tools learn to cope with people and situations that might otherwise shut them down. Students who naturally resort, when triggered, to unethical tools such as bullying or intimidating, gain awareness of their behavior and learn to access more collaborative and ethical tools. Our teaching philosophy is to make this training engaging and accessible to all students through an incremental, step by step approach. The instructor guides students through individual blocks at every step. The acting framework, and the choice of imaginary situations and scripts set in corporate, academic and political realms, provide students with both distance and relevancy to facilitate their engagement in the course. For their final assessment, students are invited to write and present a speech that supports the use of a variety of tools to present, advocate or debate on an issue that feels personally important to them. The course philosophy is to create a safe, supportive, and increasingly self-directed environment. As such, students will be invited to reflect on their personal core values and themes that are most urgent to them, to listen actively and provide constructive feedback to their classmates, as well as collectively shape their learning experience.

Frédérique NAHMANI

Enseignement électif

English

- Participants are encouraged to practice tools with acting partners outside of class - Participants interested in further understanding the acting technique used in the course are invited to read “On Acting” by Sanford Meisner and Dennis Longwell, Editions Vintage Books

The course is open to all students. A openness to a human-centered approach of leadership and readiness to participate in a supportive and highly interactive class format are the only requirements for choosing this course.

Spring 2022-2023

(1) In class participation (10%) (2) Mid-term assessment (40%): students are evaluated on their progress in terms of emotional presence, availability to their audience, and flexibility during their repetition and improvisation practice (sessions 2-6). (3) End of term assessment (50%): students present their scene or speech and are evaluated on their effectiveness and versatility when using tools (sessions 11-12) Students are expected to attend all sessions.