Consultancy Skills course in Zwolle

The Advisory Skills course is suitable for anyone working in an advisory role who wants to strengthen their powers of persuasion. Think of consultants, internal advisers, account managers, HR advisers and specialists who want to put their expertise across convincingly. You learn to deal with resistance, communicate effectively and develop a personal advisory style. No prior education is required; work experience in an advisory context will help you get the most out of the three training days.

During the Advisory Skills course you work through the complete advisory process, from the initial request to the closing meeting. You work on analysis (listening, summarising, asking follow-up questions), making a diagnosis, building support, dealing with resistance and conducting a convincing closing meeting. You also learn to apply different advisory styles, resolve conflicts and stay in control of conversations. Self-knowledge and a personal advisory style run as a common thread throughout.

Yes, on completion of the Advisory Skills course you receive a certificate of attendance from Learnit. This certificate shows that you have worked through the entire advisory process, from the initial request to the closing meeting, and that you are developing a personal advisory style. No specific prior education is required to take part. Course material is included.

No, no specific prior knowledge is required for the Advisory Skills course. Some work experience in an advisory or client-facing role is advisable, however, because during the classroom course you work on a personal advisory style based on your own practical examples. An intake takes place beforehand, in which the trainer identifies your learning objectives and tailors the programme accordingly.

The Advisory Skills course has a maximum group size of eight participants. Thanks to this small group you receive plenty of personal attention from the trainer and there is room to practise with your own real-life situations. An intake takes place before the classroom course, so that the programme matches your personal learning objectives.

Advisory skills are to a large extent conversation skills: dealing with resistance, probing, switching between advisory styles and staying in control of a conversation. You develop those skills by practising with real people who push back, not by reading about them. In the classroom course you practise with realistic situations from your own working practice in a group of no more than 8 participants. You receive immediate feedback from the trainer and fellow participants on how you come across. A book gives you models such as LSP (Listening, Summarising, Probing) or the three adviser roles (adviser, expert, service provider), but does not let you experience how a client responds to your approach. That experience is precisely what you need in order to develop a personal advisory style.

The Advisory Skills course focuses specifically on the advisory process, from the initial request to the final meeting. You learn to switch between three roles: adviser, expert and service provider. A general communication course covers conversation techniques more broadly, without the context of an advisory project with a client, diagnosis and buy-in. Choose Advisory Skills if you give advice professionally and want to strengthen your powers of persuasion with clients. The content links conversation techniques (listening, summarising, asking follow-up questions) directly to advisory phases such as analysis, diagnosis and evaluation. Recognising resistance and resolving conflicts within an advisory relationship are also covered. Choose a broader communication course if you do not yet have a fixed advisory role or mainly want to develop general conversation skills. The course is classroom-based and is given with a maximum of eight participants.

The Advisory Skills course focuses specifically on the entire advisory process, from the initial request to the closing conversation, and not just on persuasion as an isolated skill. You learn to switch between three roles: adviser, expert and service provider. A course on persuasion mainly covers influencing techniques; this course adds making a diagnosis, recognising resistance, analysing conflicts and evaluating the project. Choose this course if you work in an advisory role (internal or external) and regularly have to guide clients from question to solution. Choose a broader influencing course if you mainly want to persuade in individual conversations or presentations, without responsibility for the whole process. The course is classroom-based and is given with a maximum of eight participants.