Having good people skills is important for any successful law-enforcement officer. But there can be disagreement on what that looks like when working with the public. Improving an officer’s human relations and interpersonal skills can strengthen community relations, increase investigative effectiveness, reduce complaints and lawsuits, minimize the use of force, enhance officer and public safety, improve working relationships, and reduce work-related stress. It’s a skill worth honing — and recruiting for!
CIS offers four 90-minute trainings that when combined will complete the one-day Communication Skills for Law Enforcement seminar. These courses can be taken piecemeal but are best when taken together on the same day. This seminar is the final of four, one-day seminars planned.
TALKING AND LISTENING: WHY BE “NICE?”
Thursday, June 17, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Listening is the gateway to effective communication and the most powerful way a human being shows respect for another. Unfortunately, most of us are not great listeners. The benefits of good communication skills are many. Efforts at improvement require change and begin with self-awareness. This program shows how good communication identifies and solves problems.
BRAIN SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION THEORY
Thursday, June 17, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
The human brain is understood to be three brains in one — “triune.” The limbic system (the emotional brain) can and often does hi-jack the logical neo-cortex. Emotion, not logic, will often drive human behavior — ours and “theirs.” It is critical that law enforcement officials at all levels understand and utilize emotional intelligence — “EQ.” This program shows how it’s done.
VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Thursday, June 17, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Our choice of words is important but is not the only determinant of communicative success. How we say the words often causes successes, and failures. Our “paralanguage” — the “sound” of our voices — infuses meaning. Likewise, our body language speaks volumes. This program sheds much light on this mysterious world and allows major improvement in communication.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: DE-ESCALATION AND NON-ESCALATION
Thursday, June 17, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Nothing works all the time but there are certain methods and techniques that are the proven pathways to effective communication. Often, these are the tools necessary to de-escalate emotional tension and associated behaviors. This program demonstrates how communication skills can be used beneficially to reduce conflict and promote safety — for both the officer and the public.
COST
Courses are available at no charge to CIS members with General Liability coverage. The cost for non-members is $25 per person, per course. Register today to reserve your seat. A waitlist will be available for sessions that reach capacity.
INSTRUCTOR
Graduate of a top-tier law school and a career police legal advisor, Randy Means was formerly second-in-command of a combatant naval vessel, department head at a state law enforcement training center, and nearly ten years in-house counsel to a major city police department. Since, and for 30 years, he has been a principal in a prominent law enforcement training and consulting firm and a nationally recognized expert in police law, leadership, and accountability.
His work has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, discussed on 60 Minutes and featured on both the Law Enforcement Television Network and FBI Training Network. He has been a featured speaker at ten IACP annual conferences, multiple annual conferences of the FBINAA and PRIMA and state police chiefs conferences from New York to California.
Author of two books on policing, 100+ published articles, and past head of the National Association of Police Legal Advisors, he has done law enforcement training in every state and for more than a half-million law enforcement officials, including tens of thousands of police leaders.
QUESTIONS?
