Digital & PR Account Executive at Eden PR, Daniela Loffreda, reflects on her recent training course and shares her top tips on how to use the coaching skills she learned to support her own professional progression and that of her colleagues.

When considering professional development, it’s easy to focus on how we can refine our hard skills in the workplace.

But whatever your sector and job role, there are some soft skills that we can work on, that help us, grow our confidence, set better boundaries and manage our working relationships better.

Like many other PRs, I’ve taken on industry specific training to hone my client management skills, and better my writing abilities, but I’d never considered how a coaching course could be so beneficial to my working relationships and lead to better results for our agency and clients.

This December, I took part in a Women’s Development Programme designed and delivered by pioneering coaching and coach training organisation and Eden client, Barefoot Coaching. The course is designed for women who want to break free from habits such as people-pleasing and impostor syndrome.

Comprising of five sessions, the course is suited to women who wish to develop their self-belief and confidence and are looking to advance their careers. These are the three key takeaways from my course.

The Art of Active Listening:

As PR pros, we often pride ourselves on being top-tier communicators. We spend hours pitching in to journalists on the phone and crafting press releases, blogs and social content – telling our clients’ stories and sharing their brand messages.

But what’s equally important is ensuring we’re just as skilled at listening too. Having open and clear dialogue with clients is vital for ensuring we understand their needs and objectives so we can deliver on target first time. This can lead to more successful working dynamics and ultimately better PR results.

The art of Active Listening requires you to listen attentively to the person speaking, absorb and understand clearly what they’re saying and retain the information for later. The acronym W.A.I.T. stands for “Why Am I Talking?” This is a technique we were encouraged to practice by being better listeners and contributing more meaningfully to conversations.

I’ve since been able to implement these skills into my conversations with colleagues and clients. As a result, I’ve noticed a real difference in the outcomes of my conversations, with dialogue being more productive.

Setting Boundaries and Practicing Assertiveness:

It’s no secret that working in an agency can be demanding. We’re spinning lots of plates, managing several deadlines and speaking with multiple clients a day – all while making sure our monthly KPIs are hit.

While many of us choose to work in an agency because we love the fast-paced nature of the job, it can sometimes feel like there simply isn’t enough time to get everything done. Which is why it’s so important that we can set necessary boundaries and assert them appropriately when they’re challenged.

Having healthy boundaries in place is essential to avoid burning out and ensuring our work is delivered to the best standard it can be. On our course, we were encouraged to use ‘I’ statements to make our points, be prepared to repeat or escalate and state our feelings clearly.

Of course, it’s vital to understand when it’s appropriate to be assertive. There are four key questions to ask yourself:

Will assertiveness improve my relationships and my self-respect?
Will assertiveness prevent or reduce stress?
How much will it cost me to be assertive in this situation?
How important is this situation to me?

Growing Confidence: 

Confidence is a key skill that’s vital for progression in our professional and personal lives. But it’s something that unfortunately doesn’t always come naturally, especially to those just starting out in their careers.

How we speak to and think about ourselves has a direct impact on what we believe about our abilities. For example, if we tell ourselves we aren’t capable enough times, it becomes our default response, and we start to believe it too.

The course emphasized the importance of challenging limiting beliefs about our abilities, encouraging us to catch our limiting thoughts before they spiral.

A useful technique learned has been stopping the thought process by asking the simple question: “What is my evidence for this negative belief?”

Often, we quickly realise negative thoughts are not grounded in any reality. Instead, it’s important to focus on our achievements. This can seem difficult and unnatural at first, but once practiced enough, it becomes the automatic response.

The course has provided me with a great experience to learn more about myself, my values and my boundaries and I’m looking forward to continuing to implement these in my professional life, building better relationships with my colleagues and clients and maximizing our results.