I enjoy teaching my Logic and Communication for Leaders workshop to the Chinese. They pay attention and all work hard. Chinese all want to learn. Just one problem: They don't know how!

My first job is to teach how to learn, not memorize. Success depends upon this and other fundamental learning skills. The Chinese education system does not teach fundamental learning skills. I do.

Management techniques and communication skills are key training areas for individual and company success. Neither can be memorized; both must be learned.

Learning means that students understand key principles and can apply them in a variety of situations. To do this students must participate in the education process, must be active learners. Active learning means asking questions, debating points and challenging the material, fellow students ... and the teacher. Active learning is not a normal part of a Chinese education, especially the 'challenging the teacher' part.

To teach active learning you must start at the very beginning: logical analysis. What is a fact? What makes facts relevant? What does "proof" mean? These are the fundamental skills upon which advanced skills, like problem solving, planning, discussion and decision making, are based.

I force students to challenge everything I say, my examples, answers and explanations. Uncomfortable and quiet at first, by the last class (when each student does a class presentation) the room is very noisy, and I become a referee as much as a teacher. (This is when I teach the rules of proper discussion.) It is like nothing Chinese have ever seen before, a teacher (authority figure) seriously wanting their opinions.

The workshop uses examples of faulty logic to teach the principles of logical analysis and how logic is needed for clear and effective business communication. Students are taught to judge the content of messages logically, using four criteria:

 1. is the content necessary (relevant to the situation)

 2. is the content correct (does it need to be proven)

 3. is the content clear (is there only one possible meaning)

 4. is the content complete (is there enough information)

Facts must be presented well to be effective. I teach some common argument structures, ways to structure information so the message is clear, complete and easy for an audience to understand. Argument structures include decision making, cause-and-effect, benchmark and persuasive arguments.

In just three days the workshop changes students, often dramatically. They see how new skills will help them communicate with Westerners, and bigger benefits as well: better communication in general, better ability to analyze decisions, proposals and problem causes, and better skill in discussions and meetings. Learning logic changes their lives.

A printable outline of the 3-day Logic & Communication for Leaders workshop's objectives and methodology is here.

Because of the focus on the teaching of fundamental skills, the Logic & Communication for Leaders workshop uses generic examples. While students are encouraged to talk and ask about anything, focus is on acquiring skills, not on solving specific company or job-related issues. Specific examples are used in the Logic II workshop.

The Logic II workshop gives students a chance to learn how to apply logical skills to real-life examples of their own. Open only to students of the Logical Communication workshop, Logic II combines relevant advanced communication strategies and logic skills (cause and effect, comparison arguments etc) with student examples or group needs. It can be totally customized to meet student/client needs.

An example is a course for salespeople. In this case most attention would be on making persuasive arguments: ordering the facts in a this-leads-naturally-to-that way, how to compare the good/bad points of two products or services or presentation strategies like how and when to leave a piece of information out on purpose so that the customer adds it ... and you get closer to the sale.

Another possibility is improving the problem solving ability of a group of senior managers by teaching cause-and-effect analysis to examine an actual situation from start to finish.

Logic II is hard to describe because it can be many things, all up to the client. It can also last from one to three days, again depending upon what the client wants to achieve.

The open Logic II class introduces advanced analytic techniques like cause-and-effect, argument by analogy and comparative arguments.

Not every company can spare staff for a three-day workshop, but still want staff to improve communication skills, especially those who work or communicate directly with Westerners. I designed the Working With Westerners/In a Multinational half-day workshop for them.

Students learn how Westerners 'see' important business areas like  communication, motivation and management. Also included are key parts of the Logic & Communication for Leaders workshop, like the four questions audiences must ask about messages (above); how and why to focus on the audience's communication needs; and various key argument structures and tips on how to use them.