Changesmith Coaching

Technical experts often receive feedback to improve their communication skills. The common remark they hear is “You give too much detail” or “You go into the weeds.”&nbsp; The desire for details can become your liability. As an engineering leader, I’ve seen this happen to so many engineers in my teams. People who address this gap have more fulfilling careers. The sooner you address it, the better. I created this course drawing lessons from my journey in Toastmasters and facilitating workshops for hundreds of people on public speaking. This course starts where books and other courses end - deliberate practice! In this 4-week online course, you will develop 3 habits of communication: authenticity, brevity, and clarity. We’ll cover four themes in the course: 1) talking with structures, 2) asking insightful questions, 3) listening deeply, and 4) setting a loop for leadership growth. Each week is focused on one of these four themes. Course Overview:1. 9 hours spread over 4 weeks2. 5 hours dedicated to peer conversations; you'll learn by speaking, probing, role-playing, and listening3. Proven communication frameworks and practical tools You can find the missing link to your career growth in this course. Many have found, it's your turn now. This course is for you if you want to communicate with authenticity, brevity, and clarity! Read the detailed syllabus and reviews by past participants on this page below. Your peers from Amazon, Ellucian, Fidelity, Kitopi, Nvidia, Oracle, Ridecell, Salesforce, State Street, Kotak, EY, Nubank, and SAP have attended previous cohorts dialing in from Armenia, India, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, Hungary, Canada, Brazil and the United States. You can take the self-paced digital course if you are constrained by time or budget. Here is the digital course link -&gt; https://www.changesmith.me/communication

Express yourself. Create agreements to collaborate. Set up a growth loop.

We'll start off with the frameworks for articulating your ideas with structures and conciseness to make an impact. You'll learn the DOC framework for skill development and set up triggers for intentional behavioral change.

Talking effectively

You'll discover the power of questions for gathering perspectives and making other people think about their ideas and approaches. This module will introduce you to concepts like frames, reframing, and assertive inquiry. You'll get a lot of opportunities to practice the tone of inquiry and curiosity.

Asking insightful questions

This module will help you listen mindfully in conversations to go beyond words. You'll start listening to facts, fantasy, and feelings during this week. You'll practice the art of creating agreements and step away from frustrations stemming from unmet expectations.

Listening deeply

By the end of this week, you'll identify your key stakeholders and set up a "feedforward" loop for leadership growth and change measurement.The framework will help you adjust your behaviors and change the perception of "You" in your stakeholders' eyes.

Leadership growth loop 

Course syllabus

75-minute live session. 45-minute introduction to ideas; followed by 30 minutes focused on Q&amp;A and Practice in breakout rooms.

Tuesday

60-minute practice session and Q&amp;A. These moderated sessions help you practice the frameworks and get a few reps to build your muscle of mindful communication. You can play roles and respond to real-life scenarios in these sessions.

Thursday

Course schedule

Senior ICs and Tech Leads who have challenges with concise and structured communication; either sharing too much or too little.

Technical Experts and PMs who work with customers and are unsure what questions to ask to clarify customer's needs and create clear agreemen

Managers and Technical Leaders who are looking for frameworks and tools for handling difficult conversations and managing conflicts.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Develop a personalized toolkit based on frameworks and strategies for conversations

Build new conversational and framing skills through practice sessions and role-playing

Increased self-awareness, confidence, and clarity leading to inspired productivity

Chart your own path to leadership growth through periodic feedforward and follow-up with your key stakeholders

Mindset, Frameworks, and Tools to create agreements and influence through effective and collaborative conversations.

Pramoda Vyasarao

Cohort 5

Storytelling is the art of communicating through stories. It’s an effective tool for influencing your audience and impacting them. Storytelling is like breathing. It’s natural to you. You become better by being mindful. In this 3-week online course, you’ll learn to spot, shape, and share stories in your conversations.&nbsp; We'll have 3 live sessions as part of this course. Each session is 90 minutes long. We start with the Hero’s journey story framework in the first week. The second week is focused on shaping “sticky” stories. Sticky stories change people's thoughts and behaviors. During the last week, you’ll narrate stories in various contexts in the world of technology: performance reviews, resumes, LinkedIn profiles, job interviews, workplace presentations, and business stories.&nbsp;Your story narration will be in both oral and written forms. The course content draws inspiration from Dr.Joseph Campbell’s extensive research on mythological heroes around the world. You’ll master the universal story framework, “Hero’s Journey.” Once you understand the elements of Hero’s journey, you spot opportunities for storytelling in every interaction. You’ll start enjoying it.&nbsp; Are you keen to be an effective communicator through storytelling? The course is designed with practicality in mind. What you learn here will be immediately useful and applicable in your life. I look forward to hearing your story - particularly the story about how you decided to sign up for this course! Join us, Hero! Alumni include:Personas: Engineers, Engineering Leaders, Product Leaders, Program Managers, Entrepreneurs, and Consultants.Companies: Google, Salesforce, Oracle, Taulia, Ridecell, EY, PWC, Dell, Fidelity, JCrew and many start-ups. Bonus material:- Video recording of all live sessions available via the Maven platform- Class slides as a PDF- Opportunity to practice storytelling with technical experts from diverse backgrounds

In every interaction, you tell stories. Why not   make it impactful?

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

We have three 90-minute sessions. Each session has a theme. In every session, you'll get 30 minutes to meet other participants in breakout rooms. You'll narrate and hear stories in these breakout rooms of 2 or 3 people in a room.

Fridays

Senior Engineers, Tech Leads and Staff Engineers who want to influence without titles

Product Managers and Engineering Managers who paint the project canvas with vision, and pathways to inspire collaboration

Anyone who’s looking to improve storytelling skills as an entrepreneur or aspiring candidate for leadership interviews or teachers/speakers

Spot opportunities for storytelling in everyday interactions. With this awareness, you’ll communicate with influence

Shape your stories to make an impact. You’ll develop stories that are relatable, tangible and understandable

Share stories in a variety of contexts: meetings, discussions, interviews, self-review, resume and LinkedIn profile

Learn the rubber band technique to narrate a story in the range of 30 seconds to 120 seconds 
 

Practice storytelling with peers in a group of 2 or 3; 90 minutes of practice over 3 weeks! You’ll surprise yourself on this journey 
 

Storytelling is like breathing. You become better by being mindful. 
A 3-week course to spot, shape, and share stories in your conversations

Cohort 3

Founder of Changesmith

Cohort 2

My life without goals: I was an introverted software engineer who was overweight and inactive and spent most of my time on the couch. I stayed comfortable in my well-paying job, and my identity was all about my work. I didn’t socialize much and felt lost without real direction. My life with goals: Inspired by John Goddard, I set clear goals and worked towards them. Everything changed. I lost 50 pounds, became a confident speaker, ran a marathon in under four hours, moved to the U.S., joined Meta, and even published a book. Setting goals transformed my life completely. I wish I had a course like this when I started setting goals, so I created this one for you. This course provides a practical, structured path to achieving your personal and professional goals. Throughout the course, we will explore a 7-step framework to help you set and achieve your goals. Whether you aim to advance in your career, improve personal relationships, or achieve a lifelong dream, this course will equip you with the tools and mindset needed to turn your vision into reality. Get ready to take control of your life’s direction and embark on a journey toward success and happiness, one step at a time. COURSE CONTENT:• How to identify meaningful goals• How to increase your odds with accountability• How to smartly define milestones• How to craft masterpiece days with intention and attention• How to bounce back after setbacks• How to quit strategically• How to enjoy the journey THE COURSE ALSO INCLUDES:• Review and self-reflection• Real-life examples• Hands-on exercises to identify and plan your goals• Frameworks to help you execute your plan• Plus: Homework to put concepts into practice (optional)• All 7 Zoom workshops are live, taught by Pramoda All the sessions will be recorded so you can refer back to the material. WHO WILL BENEFIT MOST FROM THIS COURSE:• You are ambitious, and you want to sharpen your ability to achieve your goals• You are accountable and willing to share and learn from your peers• You are self-aware, open-minded, and intellectually honest WHO THIS IS NOT FOR:• This is not for you if you are looking for 1:1 coaching, but I will do plenty of Q&amp;A and ask for volunteers to submit your situations/examples to discuss as a group• This is not for you if you believe there is nothing more you can learn about achieving your goals• This is not for you if you want a quick fix or shortcuts for your goals This is a 7-week incremental course designed for an immersive experience.&nbsp; You will develop new habits and approaches to achieving your goals.&nbsp; In these seven weeks, I aim to improve your competence and confidence and make you a fully independent goal achiever.

Goals shift "You" from FOMO(Fear Of Missing Out) to JOMO(Joy Of Missing Out).

 

Saturday live sessions

You are looking for growth and expansion in your life and career.

You are keen to achieve meaning and happiness through personal and professional goals.

You want to shift from “Fear of missing out” to “Joy of missing out.”

This course is for you if:

so you can easily accomplish your personal and professional goals, which means you can be more fulfilled.

Learn a practical and repeatable framework for goal achievement 

so you gain crystal-clear clarity on your goals, which means you can stop comparing yourself to others.

Identify your short-term(1-year) and long-term(3-5 years) goals 

so you can achieve micro goals with less effort and more enjoyment, which means your journey can be smooth and enjoyable instead of painful.

Master the art of defining milestones and minifying them

so you can achieve more with less effort which means you no longer have to rely on sheer willpower.

Create a personal plan and daily habits to unleash the best version of “You”
 

so you no longer feel like a lone warrior, which means you have a supportive community to rely on for assistance and encouragement.

Collaborate with other growth-oriented people who can hold you accountable
 

Happy people have goals. Would you like to be happy?
 