Interpersonal Skills - Have to do a presentation on this...help!?

[Blackduck]

Okay, interview where I have to do a 10 min presentation with the following title...

What are the main interpersonal, influencing and communication skills that the Assistant Programme Manager role requires and how have you demonstrated these skills in your previous employment?

Bit of background - it is working on an MBA programme so involves arranging conferences, programmes (speakers etc.), managing delivery of programme, inductions etc - obviously a lot of customer focus stuff...

Anyone got any views - only 10 mins, but I want to make an impression!!
TIA

[Kathyjelly]

For my events assistant, which I guess is the same sort of thing, I wanted.....

endless good humour, good organisational skills, attention to detail so things are right first time, good forward planning, the ability to negotiate (with conference venue when workman starts drilling in room next door etc), perceptiveness to know how to put speakers and attendees at ease and to recognise what will make things run more smoothly. Also the ability to cope in a crisis.

The willingness to put in the extra hours when working to a deadline.

Hope that helps. Good luck

[Blackduck]

Thanks Kathy - that is helpful... I hate these kinds of presentations because its just so vague and nebulous!

[Blackduck]

Anyone else? Is a bit more than event organisation, is essentially running the programme from student sign-up through to graduation......

[Blackduck]

BUMP - anyone like to add anything.....

[frakkinaround]

Briefly on Student support:

able to put students at ease, awareness of different backgrounds, able to get on with other departments, friendly and approachable, able to deal many times with the same query like it's the first

Organising, knowing when to get on and when to seek further advice, good information recall, dealing with other departments especially when organising the induction to avoid overlap in time and materials

clear communication - MBA progs often have international students who have good enough English to get on the course but not the idiom/understanding of different accents/awareness of how the Uni system works.

Good luck!

[Blackduck]

Frakkin - many thanks - I am driving myself potty on this!

[frakkinaround]

It'll be fine. Just look through the job description, think about who you will have to communicate with, what kind of communication it's going to be (at some point emphasise your written communication skills!) and what level of communication it is (what register, what's the purpose) and address as many of those as you can. A good format would be skill - example where it's needed in the course - example of how you've demonstrated it in the past.

[Blackduck]

Done it - dp and I talked it through over a curry last night (before the second bottle of wine...) and I think I have something that works. Fingers crossed.