Writing Briefing Notes - Level 2

Three people sitting in a meething while one person takes notes.

You know how to write a briefing note, but now you're working with tighter timelines, broader audiences, and higher expectations. That’s when the pressure builds. With so much to say and limited space, it’s easy to second-guess what to include, how to structure your message, and whether your point is clear enough.

When briefing notes fall short, it’s not just a personal challenge; it slows decisions and impacts organizational efficiency. Decision-makers don’t have time to search for meaning or sort through scattered points. If a message isn’t apparent immediately, it can lead to missed opportunities, delayed action, and reduced trust in your work.

This advanced workshop is designed to take you beyond the basics. You’ll conduct a thorough audience analysis, identify key resources that support briefing note writing, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of real examples. Through targeted exercises and collaborative review, you’ll explore what makes a note effective, strengthen its structure, and learn how to avoid common pitfalls. You’ll also practice editing for focus and clarity, helping you deliver key messages with greater confidence.

By the end of the session, you’ll be better equipped to write briefing notes that are clear, credible, and easy to act on. You’ll refine your editing skills, build a more confident writing voice, and gain tools to improve the clarity and value of every briefing note you write.

  • Identify key readers and tailor briefing notes to meet their specific needs.
  • Identify strengths and areas for improvement in a briefing note.
  • Assess the structure, organization, and clarity of briefing notes.
  • Apply advanced writing techniques for clarity, conciseness and precision in briefing notes.
  • Recognize common pitfalls and challenges in briefing note writing and learn to avoid them.
  • Apply editing and proofreading techniques to enhance quality.

This advanced session is designed to help you refine and strengthen your approach to briefing note writing. You’ll work through real examples, revise your own documents, and apply advanced strategies for organizing content and sharpening key messages. Group discussions, peer review, and targeted editing tasks give you space to assess your current habits and test new techniques.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job.

This Level 2 workshop is for professionals who already have experience with briefing notes and want to write more clearly, efficiently, and effectively. If you support senior leaders or write under tight timelines, this session will help you deliver focused notes that meet high expectations.

  • Have experience writing briefing notes but want to improve their clarity, structure, or impact
  • Are working with tight timelines or high expectations and need to write efficiently without sacrificing quality
  • When space is limited, struggle to decide what to include—and what to leave out
  • Want to build credibility by ensuring your notes support fast, informed decisions
  • Need practical strategies to edit more effectively and fine-tune your writing voice
  • Work in roles where briefing notes influence policy, funding, or operational direction

By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to write briefing notes that are sharper, more focused, and better aligned with your readers’ needs. You’ll walk away with strategies you can apply right away to improve how you write under pressure.

Prerequisite: Writing Briefing Notes that Inform

  • Completing a detailed audience analysis for your readers
  • Editing for structure, flow, and purpose
  • Refining key messages for decision-makers
  • Organizing content to meet reader expectations
  • Exploring common pitfalls in briefing notes
  • Participating in group discussions to discuss strategies
  • Creating an action plan to support continued improvement
Professional Writing and Editing

Take Your Writing to Higher Levels

A woman sits at a computer typing up a report.

You’ve worked hard to make your writing clear. You avoid jargon, get to the point, and keep the reader in mind. But even with those efforts, something still feels off. Maybe your message doesn’t land the way you hoped. Maybe your paragraphs feel clunky, or your key points get lost. The ideas are solid, but the structure isn’t helping them shine.

When writing lacks clarity or flow, the impact spreads. Confusing messages slow decisions, cause misunderstandings, and waste time across teams. Reports need rewriting. Proposals need explaining. Readers stop reading. It’s not just frustrating—it’s costly.

This advanced workshop builds on POWER Writing and is designed for professionals who already use plain language and want to take their writing further. We’ll focus on structure, flow, and persuasion—techniques that turn functional writing into communication that connects. Through hands-on practice, guided feedback, and real examples, you’ll apply strategies to strengthen your message and keep your reader engaged.

You’ll walk away with more confidence and greater control over your writing. Whether you're working on reports, proposals, or client-facing documents, you’ll gain tools to organize your ideas, write clearly, and make your message easy to follow from beginning to end.

  • Organize information clearly, placing key points where they’ll have the most impact.
  • Write sentences that are concise, readable, and focused on the audience’s needs.
  • Use parallel structure to improve clarity and rhythm in sentences and lists.
  • Apply persuasive techniques to strengthen your message and support your goals.
  • Connect ideas smoothly using transitions that guide the reader through the document.
  • Build well-structured paragraphs that stay focused and support the overall message.

This workshop is designed for experienced writers ready to elevate their clarity, tone, and structure. You’ll work hands-on with real documents, apply advanced editing techniques, and engage in discussions that challenge your assumptions about what makes writing effective. Through guided analysis, individual exercises, and group discussion, you’ll refine your style and make deliberate choices that support stronger, more strategic communication.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job.

This workshop is for professionals who already use plain language and want to continue improving their writing. If your documents are clear but could be more polished, persuasive, or well-structured, this session will help you build on what you know and strengthen your writing even further.

  • Want to improve the structure and impact of your writing beyond the basics of clarity
  • Struggle to organize key points in a way that supports your purpose and keeps the reader engaged
  • Are ready to make your writing more persuasive, professional, and polished
  • Want to develop smoother transitions, stronger paragraphs, and more purposeful messaging
  • Write reports, proposals, or documents that influence decisions or shape outcomes
  • Have taken a plain language workshop and are looking for the next step in your writing development

Attending this session will give you the tools to write with more control and confidence. Whether you're working on reports, proposals, or client-facing content, you’ll learn how to organize your message clearly and keep your reader engaged from start to finish.

Prerequisite: POWER Writing

  • Practising techniques for eliminating bulk and improving readability
  • Editing documents for clarity, tone, and structure
  • Reworking paragraphs for improved logic and flow
  • Applying strategies for refining transitions and rhythm
  • Reviewing before-and-after writing samples
  • Creating a personal action plan for continued development
Professional Writing and Editing

Redefining the Learning Experience

A group of engaged learners gather around a dynamic facilitator.

Learners engage more fully when they feel safe, seen, and supported. But emotional safety doesn’t happen by accident—it’s shaped by how we communicate, respond to group dynamics, and design the learning experience. In classrooms of all kinds, creating the right conditions for learning means going beyond content delivery. It means building connection, reducing fear, and supporting participation in ways that reflect how people actually learn.

In this workshop, we explore a brain-based approach to teaching that supports learners' emotional and physiological needs. Drawing from research in motivation, memory, and nervous system regulation, this session offers practical ways to align your teaching with how the brain learns best. You’ll learn to use tone, body language, group rhythm, and mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and support focus. You’ll also gain tools to manage group energy, navigate difficult moments with care, and strengthen your facilitation presence.

Whether you teach younger students or adults, this workshop will help you create an environment where learners feel safe enough to take risks, stay curious, and engage more deeply.

  • Recognize the connection between emotional safety, motivation, and learning.
  • Create inclusive spaces that support participation and engagement.
  • Identify and reduce barriers that affect learner confidence and contribution.
  • Use communication techniques that build trust and connection.
  • Integrate mindful techniques to improve focus, participation, and retention.
  • Manage group interactions and approach challenging moments with empathy and skill.
  • Connect course content to learners’ real-world experiences to build relevance.
  • Design interactive sessions that invite collaboration, curiosity, and deeper learning.
  • Reflect and adapt your facilitation approach to support a more inclusive learning culture.

This interactive session invites you to pause and reflect on how learning environments affect engagement, confidence, and outcomes. Using group discussion, reflective practice, and hands-on activities, you'll explore the conditions that support trust, safety, and deeper learning. You’ll work through real examples and experiment with communication techniques, mindful practices, and brain-based strategies that help learners feel supported and ready to engage.

You’ll receive a detailed workbook filled with templates, prompts, and reference tools to support your use of analytical techniques after the session.

This workshop is for educators and facilitators who believe that meaningful learning starts with connection, trust, and care for the whole person.

  • Teach in classroom or group settings, including K–12, post-secondary, or adult education
  • Are seeking trauma- and neurodiversity-informed practices that improve learner experience
  • Want to build stronger relationships and increase learner confidence
  • Are navigating group dynamics that affect safety, engagement, or focus
  • Are exploring ways to integrate mindfulness, movement, or emotional regulation into your sessions
  • Care about building a learning culture that supports participation and belonging

Attending this session will give you strategies to strengthen engagement, reduce barriers, and design learning experiences where people feel safe, respected, and ready to learn.

  • Reflecting on learning experiences that supported or hindered engagement
  • Mapping learning environments to identify barriers and opportunities
  • Practising techniques that foster psychological safety and inclusion
  • Exploring mindful strategies to build focus and reduce stress
  • Applying communication tools that encourage connection and participation
  • Engaging in group discussion and facilitated planning exercises
  • Creating a personal action plan for designing more inclusive learning spaces
Interpersonal Communication
Presentation and Facilitation
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Inclusive by Design

Four building blocks are piled on top of one another. Each says a word: Equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging.

When people feel excluded because of how a space is arranged, how information is shared, or how decisions are made, they're less likely to engage fully. Exclusion isn’t always intentional, but its effects are real: missed contributions, discomfort, and disengagement. Over time, this can affect learning, performance, and a sense of belonging in both classrooms and workplaces.

More people are entering learning and working spaces with different needs and perspectives, but the way those spaces are designed hasn’t always kept up. Many environments still reflect narrow ideas about how people learn, work, and communicate. When inclusion is treated as a one-time fix or limited to accommodations, the responsibility shifts to individuals to adapt—rather than addressing the structures that create barriers in the first place. This slows progress, affects morale, and leads to missed opportunities for innovation, learning, and connection. Inclusive design is a practical way to close this gap by rethinking how systems and spaces are built in the first place.

This workshop offers practical strategies for making your learning or working environment more inclusive from the outset. You’ll explore how design affects participation, how to recognize common barriers, and how to make small changes that have a meaningful impact on people’s ability to engage.

  • Recognize how everyday design choices can affect comfort, participation, and performance.
  • Identify physical, social, and cultural barriers that may be present in your environment.
  • Apply inclusive design strategies in classrooms, meetings, training, and events.
  • Build environments that reduce sensory, cognitive, and emotional overload.
  • Adapt materials and communication styles to reflect diverse needs and abilities.
  • Apply principles of universal design to support learning and collaboration.
  • Promote a culture of belonging through intentional practices and policies.

This workshop offers a collaborative space to reflect on how inclusion shows up in your learning materials, communication choices, and the environments where learning takes place. You’ll explore real examples, test inclusive strategies, and take part in thoughtful discussions that help surface blind spots. By working through planning tools, reviewing sample materials, and sharing insights with peers, you’ll discover practical ways to reduce barriers and create environments that support a broader range of learners.

You’ll receive a detailed workbook filled with templates, prompts, and reference tools to support your use of analytical techniques after the session.

This workshop is for educators, facilitators, supervisors, and team leaders who are responsible for creating welcoming and engaging environments.

  • Design or lead learning experiences in classroom or workplace settings
  • Want to make your sessions, meetings, or materials more inclusive
  • Support individuals with a wide range of communication, learning, or behavioural styles
  • Are rethinking how to build spaces, whether physical or virtual, where people feel they belong
  • Are looking for practical strategies that go beyond checklists or compliance

By attending this session, you’ll leave with tools and strategies for creating spaces where more people can contribute fully, bringing out the insight, creativity, and care that’s already in the room.

  • Reviewing real-life case studies to identify common barriers and inclusive approaches
  • Mapping learner needs and identifying design improvements
  • Practising inclusive communication and plain language writing
  • Assessing the physical and virtual learning environments for accessibility and comfort
  • Testing content and materials for readability and usability
  • Exploring tools for inclusive facilitation and learner engagement
  • Creating a personal action plan
Interpersonal Communication
Presentation and Facilitation
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Strengthen Teams and Prevent Burnout

The words balance and burnout are written on a paper with a checkbox next to each word. A person is deciding which one to choose.

You push through the day, even when your energy is gone. You answer one more email, take another meeting, and try to ignore the tension in your body and brain. Maybe you feel detached from your work or are snapping at people more easily. It might feel personal, but it’s not just you.

Burnout is a growing challenge in today’s workplaces. Rising stress, disengagement, and turnover point to a deeper issue: chronic pressure without enough support for recovery. Increased sick leave, reduced morale, and team breakdowns affect performance across sectors. And once burnout sets in, it takes a long time to recover, far longer than most teams or individuals can afford. That’s why prevention matters. Awareness and proactive habits are key to supporting individual well-being and organizational performance.

This workshop helps break the cycle of chronic stress. Using a science-based approach, you’ll explore how stress affects workplace behaviour—and what can be done about it. Through reflection, discussion, and practical tools, you’ll build strategies to manage pressure, strengthen resilience, and support the well-being of yourself and your team.

You’ll walk away with tools you can use immediately: strategies to recognize and reduce burnout, ways to restore emotional balance, and techniques for improving communication and connection. Whether managing a team or your energy, this workshop will give you what you need to create a healthier, more productive workplace.

  • Explain how stress affects productivity, engagement, and workplace well-being.
  • Identify early signs of burnout and use strategies to reduce stress before it escalates.
  • Apply evidence-informed techniques to stay emotionally balanced in high-pressure situations.
  • Strengthen personal resilience through everyday self-care practices that contribute to sustainable performance.
  • Communicate more effectively to create a culture of openness, trust, and psychological safety within teams.
  • Take proactive steps to prevent burnout by building emotionally healthy, sustainable work environments.
  • Use emotional intelligence and conflict resolution tools to reduce tension and support stronger team relationships.

This workshop blends personal reflection and team-focused dialogue to help you explore the roots of burnout and what supports engagement and sustainability. You’ll take part in guided discussions, assess the stressors and strengths within your team, and explore what helps people stay motivated and connected at work. Through interactive exercises, you’ll identify what contributes to burnout and what can be done—individually and collectively—to shift toward healthier work habits and stronger team dynamics.

This workshop is for professionals, team leaders, and managers who want to support well-being and prevent burnout before it takes hold. Whether managing your energy or leading a team, this session provides practical tools to help you respond early and create a more sustainable, connected workplace.

  • Feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, or disconnected from your work
  • Lead a team and want to support well-being without lowering expectations
  • Are noticing early signs of burnout in yourself or your colleagues
  • Want to build habits that promote focus, balance, and resilience during high-pressure periods
  • Need communication strategies that strengthen psychological safety and reduce tension in the workplace
  • Work in environments where long hours, complex demands, or emotional labour are common

By attending this session, you’ll gain tools to protect your energy, support your team, and build a more resilient, sustainable work environment.

  • Completing a burnout self-assessment
  • Mapping team challenges and energy drains
  • Identifying resilience strategies at individual and team levels
  • Discussing boundaries, communication norms, and workload pressures
  • Exploring case examples of burnout prevention and team recovery
  • Creating team and individual action plans to support well-being
Interpersonal Communication
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Finding Your Voice in Everyday Conversations

Four colleagues discuss the current big project while walking to their next meeting.

You know the moment—your heart beats a little faster, and you have a thought to share, but something holds you back. You hesitate, stay quiet, or second-guess yourself. Whether it’s a team huddle or a formal meeting, the struggle to speak up can leave you feeling overlooked or stuck. It’s not that you don’t have something to say; it’s that saying it feels harder than it should.

When people hold back in conversations, organizations lose out on the insight, creativity, and collaboration that drives smart decisions. Meetings become one-sided. Diverse perspectives go unheard. And over time, silence chips away at trust, inclusion, and momentum. Building a culture where people feel safe and confident to speak isn’t just good for individuals—it’s essential for teams and workplaces that want to thrive.

This workshop helps participants move past hesitation and speak up in everyday conversations. You’ll explore the emotional and practical barriers that get in the way, such as fear of being misunderstood or difficulty organizing your thoughts. Through guided reflection, emotional regulation techniques, and communication practice, you’ll build confidence to speak up one step at a time.

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of your communication habits, practical strategies to manage self-doubt and experience applying your voice in conversations. Whether you want to speak up more in meetings, ask questions that spark insight, or share your ideas without second-guessing, this workshop offers the tools and support to build your confidence.

  • Identify personal barriers to speaking up and develop strategies to overcome self-doubt and limiting beliefs.
  • Recognize the role of emotional regulation in managing anxiety and building confidence in conversations.
  • Organize your thoughts and express them clearly in different settings.
  • Use curiosity-driven questions to engage others, encourage dialogue, and confidently approach conversations.
  • Develop and practice messages that feel natural and authentic to you.
  • Express differing viewpoints respectfully and constructively.
  • Apply active listening skills to build rapport and respond thoughtfully in discussions.

This workshop creates space for honest reflection, practical experimentation, and meaningful dialogue. You’ll explore the barriers that affect how you communicate, including limiting beliefs, emotional patterns, and moments of self-doubt. Through guided exercises, role-play scenarios, and collaborative discussion, you’ll practise expressing yourself with clarity, confidence, and purpose. You’ll also work independently to build and refine messages that reflect your values, intentions, and audience needs.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job.

This workshop is for professionals who want to feel more comfortable and confident speaking up in meetings, conversations, or group settings. If you’ve ever hesitated to share an idea or join a discussion, even when you had something to say, this session can help.

  • Hesitate to contribute to meetings or conversations, even when you have ideas to share
  • Struggle with overthinking, self-doubt, or anxiety when it’s your turn to speak
  • Want to express yourself more clearly and confidently in formal and informal settings
  • Find it difficult to organize your thoughts under pressure or advocate for your perspective
  • Are looking for practical strategies to participate more fully in group discussions
  • Work in an environment where collaboration, communication, and visibility are key to success.

By the end of this session, you will be better prepared to share your ideas with clarity and confidence. You will also leave with tools to help you contribute more fully to conversations, support stronger collaboration, and feel more at ease speaking in everyday work situations.

  • Identifying and reframing limiting beliefs that impact communication
  • Practising emotional regulation and mindfulness techniques
  • Exploring and applying cognitive reframing strategies
  • Developing concise, assertive messages using actionable language
  • Drafting elevator pitches for everyday and high-stakes scenarios
  • Expressing differing viewpoints with confidence and clarity
  • Creating a personal improvement plan with practice strategies
Interpersonal Communication
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

English Elocution

A group of people from diverse backgrounds sit around a table and share their personal experience with speaking English as an additional language.

Speaking up in meetings, delivering presentations, or even engaging in daily conversations can bring a mix of frustration and anxiety when others ask you to repeat yourself or misunderstand your words. You know what you want to say, but your worries about pronunciation, intonation, or clarity can make you hesitant to speak. Over time, this can lead to shying away from conversations, avoiding speaking up in the workplace and feeling isolated from colleagues.

Clear communication is essential for teamwork and inclusion in organizations. Nearly one-quarter of Canadians speak English as a second language. When employees struggle to be understood, miscommunication can slow projects, create confusion, and limit career opportunities. Workplaces that support clear communication benefit from stronger collaboration, a wider range of ideas, and greater team success.

This workshop provides a structured and supportive environment where you’ll gain skills and confidence alongside others who share similar challenges. Through four interactive sessions, you’ll practice pronunciation, word stress, sentence flow, and intonation. You’ll also work on tone, volume, and fluency to help your message come across more clearly. The sessions include targeted exercises and feedback to support real progress, resources, and long-term strategies to continue developing your skills after the program ends.

By the end of this program, you’ll feel more confident communicating your ideas without hesitation in professional and social settings. You will leave with long-term strategies you can continue to develop that will help you build stronger relationships, become more recognized, and access new opportunities. When you can speak with clarity and confidence, you feel more empowered and ensure that your voice is heard.

The course is designed to have weekly three-hour sessions over four weeks for a total of 12 hours of instructional time. Participants will also be given activities (readings, videos, practise exercises, challenges) to complete throughout the week outside class time.

  • Recognize the importance of articulation, diction and pronunciation in effective communication.
  • Identify and improve challenging vowel and consonant sounds to enhance overall clarity in speech.
  • Use word and phrase stress to improve clarity when speaking.
  • Emphasize keywords in a sentence and reduce focus on smaller function words.
  • Apply appropriate intonation patterns to nouns, acronyms, numbers, sentences and questions.
  • Use tone and expression to speak with feeling and connect with your audience.
  • Improve speech fluency to deliver clearer and smoother ideas and messages.
  • Adjust your pitch, tone, and pace to fit different speaking situations.

This program offers a supportive space where English language speakers can build confidence together. You’ll connect with others who share similar challenges and goals, creating a learning environment that feels both welcoming and reflective of your experience. Each session includes interactive pronunciation activities, listening and speaking practice, and personal reflection. You’ll receive supportive feedback and encouragement from both the facilitator and your peers, helping you grow in a way that feels achievable and empowering.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job.

This program is for professionals who speak English as an additional language and want to improve their spoken clarity and confidence at work. Whether leading meetings, presenting, or participating in everyday conversations, you’ll build skills to express yourself clearly and feel more at ease when speaking.

  • Are often asked to repeat yourself or feel your message isn’t fully understood
  • Want to improve your pronunciation, rhythm, or intonation when speaking English
  • Avoid speaking in meetings or group settings due to fear of being misunderstood
  • Want to contribute more confidently and comfortably in both professional and social situations
  • Are looking for a supportive environment to build your skills with guided practice and feedback
  • Work in a setting where clear spoken communication is essential for teamwork, leadership, or client service

By attending this program, you’ll build greater confidence in your speaking and be better prepared for a wide range of workplace conversations. You’ll leave with practical tools to improve clarity, connect with others, and be heard.

  • Engaging in articulation, word stress, and intonation exercises
  • Recording and reviewing your own speech
  • Identifying speech habits and tracking progress
  • Engaging in guided pronunciation practice
  • Participating in role-play scenarios based on real-life situations
  • Creating a personal improvement plan with practice strategies
Interpersonal Communication
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Cultivating Resilience

A person uses their fingers to depict walking up a jenga staircase while another person holds a book open with the words "you can."

How do you keep up when demands shift, deadlines pile up, and change feels constant? Staying productive under pressure can be overwhelming. Stress builds, burnout creeps in, and the weight doesn’t let up. The impact goes beyond work—it affects overall well-being.

Resilience isn’t about pushing through exhaustion. It means paying attention to what your body and mind need and responding in ways that support energy and focus. That includes recognizing stress signals, knowing when to pause, and building habits that protect your long-term capacity to show up and perform.

Workplace stress costs the global economy $1 trillion yearly in lost productivity. In high-stress environments, engagement drops, turnover rises, and team culture suffers. When stress goes unchecked, it drains motivation and affects performance. Resilient employees are more adaptable, recover faster from setbacks, and stay focused when pressure builds. Organizations prioritizing resilience see stronger teams, greater retention, and employees who can navigate challenges with clarity and composure.

This workshop gives you practical tools to manage stress and strengthen your mindset. Through hands-on exercises, discussions, and feedback, you’ll build skills to stay focused, respond to pressure, and turn setbacks into opportunities for growth. You’ll also explore how to recognize your stress responses, regulate emotions, and develop self-care habits that align with your energy, not work against it.

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have strategies to prevent burnout, strengthen mental resilience, and create better balance in your life. Cultivating resilience will help you handle workplace challenges, protect your well-being, and thrive in all areas of life.

  • Identify what resilience is and recognize why it’s essential for managing stress.
  • Recognize signs of stress in yourself and others before they lead to burnout.
  • Shift from a stress response to a problem-solving mindset.
  • Learn how long-term stress affects health, productivity, and well-being.
  • Expand your ability to manage challenges outside your comfort zone.
  • Use practical tools to build resilience and support team well-being.
  • Communicate boundaries effectively to reduce stress.
  • Develop daily habits to strengthen mental and emotional resilience.

This workshop offers time to slow down and notice how pressure, habits, and mindset affect your well-being at work. Through individual reflection, small-group conversation, and guided exercises, you’ll explore what helps you stay grounded and what throws you off track. You’ll work through realistic examples, test different approaches to managing energy and stress, and hear what’s worked for others. The session is structured to help you reconnect with your capacity to adapt and recover.

You’ll also receive a workbook with tools, checklists, and reflection prompts to continue building resilience after the session.

This workshop is ideal for professionals who want to build resilience, manage workplace stress more effectively, and create habits that support long-term well-being. Whether you're feeling stretched thin or simply looking for tools to better handle pressure and change, this session offers strategies to support your mental health and performance.

  • Feel overwhelmed by shifting priorities, tight deadlines, or constant workplace change
  • Want to reduce stress before it leads to burnout or disengagement
  • Struggle to find time or energy for self-care during busy periods
  • Are looking for ways to stay grounded and focused in high-pressure situations
  • Want to support resilience within your team and contribute to a healthier workplace culture
  • Work in roles where adaptability, focus, and sustained energy are essential to success

After this session, you’ll be better equipped to face challenges without sacrificing your well-being. You’ll leave with tools to manage stress in real-time, build lasting habits, and support a healthier, more sustainable approach to work.

  • Identifying personal stress patterns and resilience habits
  • Reflecting on real workplace pressure points
  • Exploring small changes that support focus and energy
  • Sharing and discussing strategies in small groups
  • Practising grounding and mindset-shifting techniques
  • Planning specific actions to support long-term sustainability
  • Creating a personal action plan
Leadership Development
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Creating Communities of Practice

A group of smiling people gather as a group to develop new skills.

You’ve seen it before—a group forms around a shared interest or challenge, full of energy and good intentions. But over time, meetings fizzle, participation drops, and the group loses direction. It’s frustrating when a space for support and learning feels like just another meeting with little purpose.

This happens in many organizations. Communities of practice are groups that meet regularly to share knowledge, solve problems, and improve their work. When well supported, they can strengthen collaboration and lead to new ideas. But without clear structure, purpose, and skilled facilitation, these groups often lose momentum and, with it, the chance to learn from each other.

This workshop gives you the tools and strategies to build and lead a thriving community of practice. You’ll learn how to define your group’s purpose, set a foundation for success, and create a space where people feel safe and motivated to share. You’ll also explore practical facilitation skills to guide conversations and keep the group engaged over time.

By the end of the session, you’ll be ready to create an inclusive and engaging space where people learn from one another, solve real problems together, and build lasting connections. Whether you’re starting a new group or supporting an existing one, you’ll leave with the tools and clarity to make your community of practice a meaningful part of your workplace.

  • Explain what a community of practice is and identify the factors contributing to its long-term success.
  • Recognize the essential elements needed to launch and sustain an active, engaged group.
  • Recognize the role of a facilitator in guiding and supporting a community of practice.
  • Create a space that encourages trust and open conversation.
  • Apply active listening and effective questioning techniques to engage participants and guide discussion.
  • Develop facilitation techniques to keep meetings focused and inclusive.
  • Use strategies to sustain momentum and manage group interactions over time.
  • Respond effectively to common facilitation challenges and difficult situations.

This interactive session is designed to help you explore how communities of practice form, grow, and support shared learning. You’ll reflect on your current workplace knowledge-sharing habits and examine case studies of successful communities. Through structured discussions, planning tools, and scenario-based activities, you’ll explore what it takes to support a thriving, self-sustaining learning group.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job.

This workshop is for anyone responsible for launching, sustaining, or renewing a community of practice. It’s well suited to team leaders, facilitators, and professionals aiming to enhance learning and knowledge-sharing cultures.

  • Are starting a community of practice and want a strong foundation
  • Support an existing group that’s losing momentum or struggling to stay focused
  • Facilitate peer learning or professional development groups and want fresh strategies
  • Are looking to build engagement, trust, and long-term value in collaborative spaces

By the end of this session, you will have practical tools to lead a community that supports learning and connection. You will be better equipped to keep people engaged, focused, and purposefully working together.

  • Reflecting on existing communities and informal learning networks
  • Mapping your own organization’s knowledge-sharing opportunities
  • Exploring roles, structures, and supports that sustain engagement
  • Participating in group planning and design discussions
  • Building an action plan to support or launch a community of practice
Interpersonal Communication
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness

Certificate in Facilitation and Design

A person facilitates a staff presentation.

Helping employees succeed takes more than assigning tasks or offering quick advice. It means knowing how to guide learning, support performance, and create the right conditions for people to do their best work. But without a clear structure, even well-meaning efforts — like a coaching conversation, a team session, or an onboarding plan — can fall short. You may be asked to lead a discussion, support a struggling team member, or explain something complex, all without much preparation.

When organizations rely on informal or inconsistent approaches to development, performance gaps grow. Teams repeat mistakes, engagement drops, and progress slows. Leaders are expected to support growth and guide results, but the work can feel unclear and frustrating without the tools to do so.

This four-part program helps you develop the practical skills needed to guide learning and improve performance across your team. You’ll learn to assess needs, support skill development, and lead group conversations that build clarity and collaboration. Whether you’re facilitating a meeting, coaching a staff member, or sharing knowledge with your team, this program offers the tools and strategies to make your efforts more effective.

By the end of the program, you’ll be able to create supportive environments where learning and performance go hand in hand. You’ll have the confidence to lead with intention, communicate clearly, and provide day-to-day support that helps people grow and succeed.

This certificate program includes the following four workshops: Performance Development & Learning, Session Design, Advanced Facilitation Skills, and Facilitation in a Virtual Environment. Each workshop includes a post-workshop assignment.

  • Apply a performance mapping process to identify and propose business goals and performance requirements, along with training and work environment needs.
  • Use a five-step model to structure sessions logically and ensure smooth content delivery.
  • Select activities and visual aids that reinforce key messages and maintain attention.
  • Recognize how adults learn in the workplace and apply these principles to support real-time performance and growth.
  • Use questioning, listening, and coaching techniques to encourage reflection, accountability, and development.
  • Facilitate both in-person and virtual interactions with clarity, presence, and intention.
  • Lead group discussions and handle challenging behaviours while staying neutral and respectful.
  • Create supportive in-person and virtual environments by reading digital cues and encouraging discussion.

This four-part certificate program blends practical facilitation theory with real-world application. Each session focuses on a key component of effective facilitation and design. You’ll work through realistic scenarios that mirror the challenges of supporting performance development in your organization.

Throughout the program, you’ll have structured opportunities to design facilitation plans, assess different approaches, and refine your strategies through feedback and reflection. Activities are designed to support critical thinking, build confidence, and help you apply facilitation techniques with purpose and clarity.

You’ll also take away a practical workbook with tools, examples, and checklists to use back on the job. You’ll complete a proof-of-learning assignment after each module to reinforce your learning and strengthen your application in the workplace.

This program is for managers, supervisors, and professionals who support others through coaching, communication, or leadership. If your role involves helping people succeed, whether through one-on-one conversations, team discussions, or training, this program will give you practical tools to guide performance and support learning.

  • Are expected to train, coach, or guide others but feel unsure how to do it effectively
  • Want to move beyond improvised training efforts and create sessions that are focused, engaging, and aligned with workplace needs
  • Have led learning sessions that didn’t have the impact you hoped for
  • Need tools to assess training needs, design sessions, and lead in both virtual and in-person environments
  • Want to improve how you support employee performance and development
  • Work in a leadership, HR, or learning and development role where strong facilitation and design skills are critical

By completing this program, you’ll have the confidence and tools to lead conversations, guide development, and create a work environment where people can learn, improve, and succeed.

  • Planning and designing effective sessions that meet participant needs
  • Assessing facilitation strategies using real-world case scenarios
  • Exploring group behaviours and discussing strategies for support and inclusion
  • Reviewing and applying frameworks for in-person and virtual facilitation
  • Participating in small group discussion and peer coaching
Interpersonal Communication
Presentation and Facilitation
Leadership Development
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