Conversations to encourage behavioural change in the workplace

R3 950

Would you like to help strengthen people’s own motivation for necessary change in a particular environment? As a conversation partner, you could support someone to see why change would be beneficial to them – in the workplace as a professional, but also in a family environment or as a friend.
People who are faced with change often feel ambivalent about the choices they have. They may see the benefits of the new behaviour for the organisation and themselves, but it’s also hard for them to make the mind shift.

If it is part of your job as manager or HR officer to communicate about organisational change affecting employees’ work, this course is for you. The same skills can be applied in many other areas where change needs to be facilitated.

Join this course to learn from our communication expert, Prof Carel Jansen, while he is visiting Stellenbosch from the Netherlands.

2025 course dates

11 September – 6 November (apply by 11 September)

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Start application

Downloadable documents

– 2025 Info page
– 2025 Infoblad
– 2025 Comms Lab course calendar

Presenters

Prof Carel Jansen is an emeritus professor in the field of Communication and Information Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. In addition, he is an SU Language Centre research fellow. Read more about him here.

Location

The face-to-face sessions will take place from 09:00 to 12:00 in the Seminar Room of the Language Centre, Kleine Bosch, 44 Banhoek Road, Stellenbosch.
Find us with the interactive campus map or click on this link for directions.

In this course:

You will be introduced to a new, evidence-based communication approach for evoking change readiness in people – usually employees – called motivational interviewing (MI).
You will gain some practical experience with interview techniques that can help tilt a person’s ambivalence in favour of change. This is a valuable tool in any professional communicator’s toolbox.

We offer this course over two online sessions (09:00 to 11:00), and two in-person sessions (09:00 to 12:00). Online sessions are facilitated on MS Teams, and in-person sessions will take place in the Seminar Room of the Language Centre, Kleine Bosch, 44 Banhoek Road, Stellenbosch.

Our courses combine live online sessions, facilitated by the course presenter, with self-directed online learning.

This course opens before the first live online session and closes well after the last live online session. This allows enough time for you to activate your SUNOnline presence before the live sessions start.

Sessions

Course duration (opening and closing dates)

Apply by

Course 1:

Online on 2 and 9 October (09:00 to 11:00)

In-person on 16 and 23 October (09:00 to 12:00)

11 September to 6 November

11 September

During this course, you will spend your time as follows (this may vary for individuals):

one in-person session per week of three hours each
±4 hours per week of self-paced reading and completing tasks, quizzes, activities, and assignments.

You will need access to a computer or laptop and a stable internet connection.

If it is part of your job as manager or HR officer to communicate about organisational change affecting employees’ work, this course is for you. The same skills can be applied in many other areas where change needs to be facilitated.

Click on the ‘Start application’ button if you are interested in doing this course, and fill in the form. We will then send you a link to enrol for the short course.

You need to attend the face-to-face sessions and complete the given assignments and assessments. After having attended the course, and successfully completing the assessments, you will receive a certificate of competence.

Enjoy peer learning and the interaction with your co-participants, facilitated by a passionate and competent presenter. After this course, you will be able to apply all the knowledge and insights you have gained to guide people regarding behavioural change, whether in the workplace or in your personal life. This will help you to connect to more people, and could make you more successful in your work, particularly if change management is part of your duties. The skills that you will have gained through this course can also lead to personal development and create opportunities for further career growth.

The course fee includes course material, access to our online platform, SUNOnline, downloadable resources and online activities. You will have access to SUNOnline only if the full course fee has been paid before the course starts.

Any questions?

Contact Michelle Pieters at michellep@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2812 for more details.
You could also discuss your specific short-course and development needs with us. Enquire about our available short courses, course dates and options for tailor-making a course.

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