Essential Writing Skills for Members’ staff

Standard

The course will cover the principles of good written communication and how to put them into practice. It will look at some essentials about the use of language, grammar, tone and writing style and will include an introduction to the ‘Plain English’ approach to business writing.

For full details and dates, please click here:

https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=429

Taking Control of Your Time & Speed Reading

Standard

This workshop will give Members’ staff the opportunity to think about their roles and identify the tasks that really get results. In addition, delegates will learn a variety of tips and techniques on how to control more of their time, enabling them to focus on their key tasks.

For full details and dates, please click here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?f=616

Conversations with Vulnerable People

Standard

This one day course is designed to equip staff with the skills and confidence to handle challenging conversations with customers or employees in a sensitive and professional way.

A person’s emotional state can affect their reactions. Understanding how this happens can help you resolve conflict more successfully.

The Samaritans trains their volunteers in active-listening techniques using a model known as the ‘listening wheel’. This course will cover these techniques to help you build rapport with a person in order to alleviate their distress and de-escalate any anger and aggression, which can be used to great effect in the workplace.

For full details and dates, please click here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?f=518

Building Emotional Resilience

Standard

Having a good level of emotional resilience can positively affect teams, colleagues, other individuals and one’s own wellbeing, increasing productivity and performance in the workplace. Individuals will have a better chance of delivering results at work if they are able to deal with stressful life events.

The course will focus on managing emotional health and empowering delegates to support others. It will help delegates to identify and respond to increasing demands in a way that helps them to get through challenging situations and continue to learn and grow.

For full details and dates, please click here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=575

Glossary of Parliamentary Terms

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What is a division? Where is the Lobby? What is the difference between a PPS, a PPC, an APPG and a POPTART? And, the greatest mystery of them all, just what exactly are the Lords doing when they are “at pleasure”?

One of the most overwhelming difficulties of starting a job in parliament can be coming to terms with the language, which quite often might as well be Swahili for a newcomer.

In an attempt to help the public connect with parliament, the Modernisation Committee made some changes to the language and procedures used around the place. For example, the procedure whereby Members wishing to raise a point of order used to have to wear a special hat, like a pirate, was abolished in 1998 to the dismay of the more fashionably (and piratically ) minded MPs of the time.

Similarly, ‘I spy strangers’ (formerly used to request that the House sit in private), ‘strangers’ being members of the public, was abolished in and replaced with the rather less romantic request that the ‘House sit in private’.

While there may be a certain smugness which emanates from being able to understand such obscurities, many feel that the use of such language further turns off an already disengaged public. Others argue it creates a sense of occasion and tradition and helps maintain dignified discussion.

The BBC also has a very good jargon-buster, called the A-Z of Parliament.

Parliament’s Education Service works with schools to support young people’s understanding of Parliament and democracy; they are here: https://learning.parliament.uk/en/

 

ES March 2013