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Assertiveness training skills are vital for personal and career success, as they allow expression of opinions, feelings and needs in a healthy way.  These skills will enable you to protect your rights, set healthy boundaries and accept compliments graciously.

If your self-esteem is low, it’s difficult to express yourself assertively. That’s where our assertiveness training course comes in handy.

Building Self-Esteem and Assertiveness Skills is an online program that will give you insights into understanding the different aspects of the communication process and help you apply effective techniques, both at work and in social settings.

In this assertiveness training course, you’ll learn to identify and use a range of communication styles, body language, and listening and questioning skills to build and develop your assertive persona!

So, if you need some help to communicate your wants and needs, whether in your personal or professional life (or both), this course will provide you will have the skills, knowledge and confidence you need!

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking assertiveness training include:

• Origins of low self-esteem
• Changing the conditioning
• Putting things in perspective
• Improving self-esteem
• Stop spreading negative messages
• Negative and negating comments
• Making Connections
• Throw out perfectionism
• Building self-esteem
• Building confidence in others
• Putting others at ease
• Presenting yourself well
• Creating positive impressions
• Our thoughts on creating impressions
• Making connections
• Throw out perfectionism
• Increasing our self-esteem
• Assessing internal factors
• Communication skills
• Personal conflict
• Collaboration
• Assertion
• Assertive behaviour
• What assertiveness will not do
• Selective assertiveness
• Passive behaviour
• Aggressive behaviour
• Language
• Circle of concern and influence
• Causation
• What the circle of concern represents
• Circle of influence
• Learn to be assertive
• Learning how and when to say no
• Saying no
• Saying yes
• Communication
• Listening
• Open/closed questions
• Aspects of communication
• Non-verbal messages
• Body language, tone and words

 

… and more!

 

What Determines Self-Esteem?

In psychology, self-esteem describes a person’s sense of self-worth or value. It’s a term that reflects how much a person appreciates and likes themselves. It involves a variety of beliefs, such as how a person feels about their appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours.

Many factors contribute to our self-esteem, such as:

• Personality
• Health
• Age
• Thoughts
• Social connections
• Reactions of others
• Comparison of self to others
• Genetics
• Life experiences

The good news is, while self-esteem is a complicated construct, it’s not fixed! You can positively build your self-esteem with work and patience. One way to start improving your self-esteem is by learning to communicate assertively.

Assertiveness – How Important Is It?

Assertiveness training is crucial in the workplace, and it’s a skill that allows harmony and productivity to reign supreme! But it’s just as important in your personal life because it’s key to building and maintaining healthy relationships.

Being assertive isn’t easy without training and practice because there’s a fine line between assertiveness and aggression. One clear way to recognise the difference is in considering what drives the behaviour. Assertive behaviour is based on finding a balance between expressing your own needs and respecting the rights of others, while aggressive behaviour is based on winning at all costs.

The 4 Types of Communication

The way a person interacts with others is unique, but there are four broad communication styles:  passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive and assertive.

Assertive communication is proven to be the most effective because it incorporates the most beneficial aspects of all the other styles.

It is helpful to understand the different types of communication styles in order to understand how and why people communicate in specific ways.

#1 – Aggressive

Aggressive communication is often loud, demanding and involves intense eye contact. The aggressive communication style can include intimidating, criticising, threatening and blaming behaviour.

Aggressive types of communication involve commands, rude questioning and an inability or unwillingness to listen to others’ points of view.

Aggressive communication signs:

• Talking fast without pauses
• Standing too close
• Pointing
• Clenched fists
• Sneering
• Smirking
• Nostril flaring

An example of aggressive communication:

“I know when I’m right!”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“You completely got this wrong again.”

 

Aggressive communication results in:

• Lack of real connection with others
• Stress
• Unmet goals

#2 – Passive – Aggressive

In passive-aggressive communication, people may appear passive on the surface, but underneath there’s anger. The anger is often subtle and indirect so that it can be confusing for those dealing with a passive-aggressive person.

Those who adopt a passive-aggressive communication style are usually feeling powerless or resentful and feel unable to deal with difficult situations or emotions.

Passive-Aggressive communication signs:

• Mutter under their breath rather than confront issues
• Have trouble acknowledging their anger
• Use facial expressions that don’t match feelings
• Deny having a problem
• Appear cooperative while being annoying or disruptive
• Uses sabotage to get even

Passive-aggressive communication results in:

• Alienation from others
• Continuing to feel powerlessness
• Holding resentment while others addressing real issues

An example of passive-aggressive communication:

“Fine. Whatever.”

“I’m coming!”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’ve done so well for someone with your education level.”

“I was joking!”

#3 – Passive

Passive communicators avoid expressing opinions and feeling, and as a result, their rights and needs are often not met. People who use passive communication don’t react to hurtful or anger-inducing situations but let hurt feelings build-up.

But everyone has their tolerance threshold, and when passive communicators react, they’re prone to explosive outbursts that are out of proportion.  This overaction then triggers feelings of shame, guilt and confusion, and so the passive communication cycle continues.

 

Passive Communication Signs:

• Failure to assert themselves
• Allows others to infringe on their rights
• Inability to express feelings, needs, or opinions
• Speaking softly
• Apologetic
• Poor eye contact
• Slumped posture

 

Passive-Aggressive Communication Results In:

• Feeling out of control
• Anxiety
• Depressed mood
• Worthlessness
• Feeling resentful

 

An example of passive communication:

“I don’t mind. I’m okay with whatever you want to do.”

“It really doesn’t matter that much.”

“I just want to keep the peace.”

#4 – Assertive

Assertive communicators state opinions and feelings honestly and firmly while respecting the rights of others. They are able to respect and value themselves while also respecting the rights of others.

Assertive Communication Signs:

• States needs and feelings honestly, clearly, appropriately, and respectfully
• Uses “I” statements (not “you”)
• Communicates respect for others
• Listens without interrupting
• Feels in control of self
• Maintains good eye contact
• Speaks calmly
• Demonstrates relaxed body language

Assertive Communication Results In:

• Feeling connected to others
• Feeling in control of their lives
• Mature attitude as problems are addressed as they arise

An example of Assertive Communication:

“We are all equally entitled to express our opinions.”

“Can you explain why you did that, please?”

“I feel frustrated when you arrive late for meetings.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but I disagree.”

 

Now that you’ve learned about the four basic communication styles, why not learn even more with our assertiveness training course, The Certificate of Self-Esteem and Assertiveness Skills?

 

 

Studies have shown that domesticated cats first appeared around 4000 BC, and since then, many of us have sought to understand their unique and fascinating personalities. But with a reputation for being challenging to train and fiercely independent, it’s not always easy!

Ideal for cat owners, pet shop workers, breeders, groomers, animal health professionals and animal welfare officers, our Certificate of Cat Psychology and Training will give you insights into how to manage and influence the behaviour of our feline friends.

You will learn about cat senses and communication, understand their natural behaviour, and explore cat behaviour management. You will also study behavioural disorders and abnormalities in cats, and learn the ins and outs of basic obedience training.

Meow!

 

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking animal care courses include:

• Learning about the nature and scope of cat psychology
• Exploring cat psychology terminology
• Gaining an understanding of cat industries
• Studying how to differentiate between health and behavioural issues
• Gaining insights into feline diabetes and kidney disease
• Understanding stress in cats
• Learning about cat senses and cat communications
• Gaining an understanding of the sounds made by a cat
• Studying the body language of cats
• Examining the smell and hearing of cats
• Understanding the natural behaviour in cats
• Learning about cat aggression and scratch fever
• Exploring cat behavioural development
• Studying cats’ biological rhythms and sleep
• Gaining insights into cats’ sexual and maternal behaviour
• Understanding eating and drinking in cats
• Learning about abnormalities and behavioural disorders in cats
• Exploring nature or nurture
• Studying sensitive periods
• Gaining insights into cats’ neurological development
• Understanding how cats sleep and play
• Learning about cat temperament tests
• Exploring how cat breeds differ
• Studying basic training in cats
• Gaining insights into dealing with cat aggression — redirected, maternal and idiopathic
• Understanding housebreaking
• Learning about inappropriate elimination
• Exploring excessive vocalisation
• Studying geriatric dysfunction
• Gaining insights into controlling the killing of wildlife
• Understanding eating disorders
• Learning about abnormal suckling
• Exploring separation anxiety
• Studying obedience training and discipline
• Gaining insights into forming habits
• Understanding the advantages of training cats early

…And more!

Fascinating Facts About Cats

Like humans, cats’ personalities, behaviour, and the way they communicate vary dramatically. Breeds and species can only determine so much, and the rest is often determined by environmental factors and their individual personalities — something you’ll discover when undertaking animal care courses. But what do we know? Cats are definitely fascinating, and here’s why …

Cat Communication

• All cats have a unique ‘vocabulary’ with their owner, which includes purrs, behaviours and vocalisations.
• Cats can exhibit up to 100 different vocalisations.
• Meowing is a behaviour that cats developed exclusively to communicate with people.
• Domestic cats purr at a frequency of 25 to 150 vibrations per second.
• When threatened or being aggressive, cats often growl or hiss.
• If they are hunting prey, some cats make a chirping sound.
• A ‘caterwaul’ is the cry of a cat ‘in heat’.
• Cats find it threatening if you make direct eye contact with them.
• If a cat rubs their face and body against you, they are marking you as their territory through their scent glands.
• Cats often yawn as a way to end a confrontation — it’s like a ‘talk to the hand’ gesture!
• Hissing is defensive not necessarily aggressive and an expression of stress, fear or discomfort.
• When cats are fighting, the cat that is hissing is generally the more vulnerable one.
• If a cat approaches you with a straight tail that’s almost ‘vibrating’, it means they are extremely happy to see you.
• When a cat ‘kneads’, it is a sign of contentment — kittens knead their mums when they are nursing to stimulate milk production.
• When a cat exposes their belly, they are relaxed and showing trust.
• Whiskers are a great indicator of a cat’s mood – whiskers back means they are scared, whiskers forward generally means they’re hunting.
• When a cat swats you with retracted claws, they are normally playing not attacking.
• Unlike dogs, when a cat wags its tail, it’s their way of saying you are getting on their nerves.
• A cat putting their bum in your face is a gesture of friendship. Ewww …
• If a cat drapes its tail over you, another cat (or even a dog), it’s a symbol of friendship.

Cat Behaviours

• Cats are very fussy about water bowls – some even prefer to ignore them and drink out of the tap!
• They groom other cats (and sometimes people) in ‘social grooming’ — a term known as allogrooming.
• Cats like to sleep on pillows or dirty washing that smell like their owners or in laundry baskets where they can hide.
• They will often attack human’s ankles when they’re bored.
• Certain cats go mad for unusual foods including chips, olives and … beer hops.
• Most cats don’t like the scent of citrus.
• Around half the cats in the world respond to the scent of catnip, whereas kittens have no response to it at all.
• If your cat goes missing inside, look in a bag or box, as these are some of their favourite hiding spots.
• Some cats like the smell of chlorine (because it smells like cat wee).
• Many cats like to lick their owner’s freshly washed hair.
• Cats can be thieves and will often hide objects like stuffed animals that remind them of prey.

Cat Idiosyncrasies

• White cats with blue eyes are prone to deafness.
• A cat’s learning style is similar to a two to three-year-old child.
• A group of kittens is called a kindle.
• Collective nouns for adult cats include a ‘clowder’, ‘glaring’, ‘clutter’ and ‘pounce’.
• The location of cat breeders is called catteries.
• Most cats can be toilet-trained.
• Cats can drink seawater in order to survive (unlike humans).
• Every cat’s nose is unique — similar to human fingerprints.
• Most languages in the world have a similar word to describe the ‘meow’ sound.
• The first cat video, ‘Boxing Cat’s, was recorded by Thomas Edison in 1894.
• Kittens in the same litter can have more than one dad – female cats in heat can release multiple eggs over a few days.
• Cats dream, just like people and exhibit this by whimpering and twitching their whiskers.

How To Train A Cat To Sit

Because cats appear to be stubborn and aloof, many people think they are completely untrainable. However, undertaking animal care courses may have you thinking otherwise. Cat behaviourists believe they actually enjoy the physical and mental stimulation of training … as long as there are treats involved of course!

The key to training a cat is the establishment of trust and motivation (hence the treats), using positive methods and never resorting to punishment. A training clicker can also help as you can train your cat to associate the clicking noise with a delicious reward. Here are some tips from the RSPCA on how to teach your cat how to sit on cue.

1. With a treat in one hand and your clicker in the other, sit on the floor and call your cat to you.
2. Hold the treat slightly above your cat’s head.
3. Wait for them to sit as their eyes follow the treat.
4. When they start to sit, click and then reward them with the treat.
5. Repeat the process until your cat is properly sitting properly and then say the cue word ‘sit’.
6. Repeat the training over several days until they’ve mastered it. Patience will be required!

 

Keen to increase your knowledge of cat behaviour so you manage and respond to fur babies in a personal or professional capacity? Then animal care courses, such as our Certificate of Cat Psychology and Training is the purrfect course for you!

Also known as criminalistics, forensic science is the application of science to civil and criminal law. And the legal system widely recognises the role of forensic science — particularly in criminal offender trials — because when scientific techniques are used, there is little scope for injustice or bias.

Our Certificate of Forensic Science course is ideal for anyone considering a career in law enforcement or criminal law, including those working in investigative journalism, legal offices, the security industry, and even those who would like to pursue a career in crime writing!

It will give you a fundamental understanding of the nature and scope of forensic science, including techniques like fingerprinting, anthropometry and bloodstain analysis. You will learn about evidence collection and analysis, the types of physical and biological evidence, and specialist forensic services like pathology, psychology and anthropology. You will also study criminal profiling and intelligence, criminology and psychological theories, the ethical issues involved in forensic psychology and how to present evidence in court.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking forensic science courses include:

• Learning about the nature of forensic science
• Understanding the origins and principles of forensic science
• Exploring field and laboratory sciences
• Studying digital services
• Gaining insights into digital services
• Examining forensic medicine
• Understanding forensic science and law
• Learning about scientific principles
• Exploring feature comparison methods
• Gaining insights into the applications of forensic science to law
• Understanding what evidence is, its use and the types of physical and biological evidence
• Learning about evidence and its relationship with the law
• Exploring evidence collection and the chain of custody
• Studying crime scene investigations
• Understanding first respondents, scene assessment and the collection of samples
• Learning about the completion of a crime scene
• Exploring the purpose of the analysis of evidence
• Studying the principles underlying analysis
• Gaining insights into the types of evidence including laboratory evidence
• Understanding statistical and laboratory analyses
• Learning about specialist forensics
• Exploring civil versus criminal courts
• Gaining an understanding of the types of forensics used including digital and electronic forensics
• Studying forensic pathology, anthropology and psychology
• Gaining insights into criminology and the psychological theories behind it
• Understanding cognitive theory and moral development
• Learning about personality, intelligence and children and crime
• Exploring psychological disorders and crime
• Studying mental health disorders and mental health and criminal offences
• Gaining insights into the types of disorders, including personality disorders and crime
• Understanding mental health in children and crime
• Learning about conduct disorder and oppositional defiance disorder
• Exploring criminal profiling
• Studying the role of a forensic psychologist and a psychiatrist in profiling
• Examining police and statistical profiling and the applications of profiling
• Understanding profiling typologies and the problems with profiling

… And more

 

The History of DNA Profiling

DNA (which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid) is found inside almost every cell in a human’s body and is unique to individuals. DNA profiling is the process of determining an individual’s DNA characteristics, and in criminal investigations, is a forensic technique that compares criminal suspects’ profiles to DNA evidence to assess the likelihood of their involvement in a crime. Forensic science courses delve into the fascinating world of DNA evidence, but how did profiling come about and how does the process work today?

The use of DNA as a material for the identification of an individual first came about with scientific advances in the 1980s. American biologist, Rd. Jeffrey Glassberg filed the first patent covering the direct use of DNA variation for forensics in 1983.

Meanwhile, in the UK, geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys was independently developing a DNA profiling process in conjunction with two members of the Forensic Science Service (FSS). It was first used forensically in solving the murder of two teenagers who had been raped and murdered in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986. In the inquiry, the DNA contained within blood samples obtained from around 5000 local men, resulted in the exoneration of a man — Ian Kelly — who had confessed to one of the crimes. It also led to the conviction of a man — Colin Pitchfork — who had coerced Kelly to stand in for him when providing a blood sample.

A co-worker reported the deception to the police and Pitchfork was arrested. His blood was sent to the lab for profile development and his profile matched the DNA left by the murderer. This confirmed his presence at both crime scenes and he subsequently pleaded guilty to both murders.

These days, to make biological samples into a format where they can be compared between people, samples must undergo a multi-step process. In criminal investigations, DNA is extracted from samples at crime scene items. The first step is to ‘break open’ any cellular material present in the sample to release the DNA into a solution. From there, it is purified and the small amount of DNA left over, if existing, is replicated in the areas that are unique to individuals. Via a computer database, it is then output as a graph with peaks known as an electropherogram. The peak positions are then converted into a series of letters and numbers — the DNA profile.

 

A Day In The Life Of Forensic Scientist

Dr Charles Connnor is a biological examiner, authorised crime scene examiner and DNA scientist at Forensic Science Service Tasmania (FSST). With a medical research background, including a PhD in medicine and Honours in virology and microbiology, Dr Connor began working at FSST in 2002 and now performs a number of roles at the organisation’s lab. A snapshot into his ‘typical’ day offers some insights into the work he performs and inspiration for those keen to undertake forensic science courses.

The FSST is based in the South of Tasmania with a team of 32 staff. The biology team receive around 3000 cases a year, which equates to around 7000 items that need examining. He works closely with Tasmania Police on major crime scenes such as woundings, murders and sexual assaults, and provides expertise on scientific testing and bloodstain pattern analysis.

In the lab, his day generally begins with the review of a crime scene file that gives him some context into what is alleged to have happened and what might have happened. With that information, he then examines items, applies specific tests and takes samples for DNA profiling.

Once DNA has been profiled, it’s then a matter of comparing a reference sample from a known person to the crime scene profile. If the DNA profiles are exactly the same, it is called a DNA match. DNA matches can also be found by running the profile through two computer databases — one local and one national. There are around 27,000 unique reference samples on the local Tasmanian DNA database and over 980,000 on the national database.

Dr Connor believes there has been much improvement in DNA profiling over the past few years. Testing has become more reliable, sensitive and robust. It has also gone from the statistical chance of someone matching a profile being in the millions to the septillions (that’s a number with 24 zeros!)

New Developments in DNA Evidence

Several new techniques have been developed in the past decade that has increased the way DNA can be used as part of the criminal justice process. These include: 

Familial Searching

A DNA profile can demonstrate genetic relationships when the profiles are matched on the basis of the number of STR markers that are shared. For example, a parent is expected to share half of their STR markers with their children, because half of a child’s genetic code is received from each parent. Familial searching is used in criminal investigations where DNA evidence is found at a crime scene and a match can’t be established with any of the DNA profiles held on databases. However, these partial matches may be identified, and may indicate the DNA profiles of genetic relatives, and can provide new leads and a greater chance of identifying suspects.

Kinship Matching

Based on the same principles as familial matching, in kinship matching family members voluntarily submit samples of their DNA to investigators. Often used in natural disasters involving multiple fatalities where unidentified bodies are involved. If a partial match is found, it signifies a link to a family member and can reduce the time required to identify bodies.

mtDNA Profiling

Mitochondria are structures within our cells that are responsible for the production of energy. Each mitochondrion has its own DNA, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is maternally inherited, and identical between maternal relatives and siblings. This type of profiling can be used to provide greater specificity in familial searches where a number of partial matches are obtained. It can also be used in the identification of degraded samples such as skeletal remains, where there may be insufficient nuclear DNA to create a profile.

Y-STR DNA Profiling

The Y chromosome is a sex-determining, paternally inherited chromosome. Y-STR profiling can be used to narrow familial searches where a number of partial matches are obtained. It can also be used to distinguish between female and male DNA in sexual assault cases where samples taken from the victim are mixed, and where it is difficult to obtain an accurate profile of the suspect.

Our Certificate of Forensic Science course will arm you with the skills to embark on a career in forensic science or gain new specialised skills to advance in your area of career expertise.

Business psychology courses are valuable professional development across many industries and careers, from business coach to customer service manager and even marketing executive. What do these diverse careers have in common? They all need at least foundation knowledge in understanding people and their behaviour.

If you want to develop your leadership, marketing, and business coaching skills, our Certificate of Business Psychology is perfect for you. This course will provide you with business psychology knowledge and skills to gain an understanding of the behaviour of both employers and business users.

You will learn about marketing psychology, which explores buyer behaviour or the motivations of people as consumers. You’ll also discover how to help clients develop strategies to achieve goals and build their business potential as a business coach.

On completion of this course, you will have a foundation knowledge of how and why people behave in certain ways, specifically in the workplace and as consumers.

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes achieved by this business psychology course include:

• The Gestalt Approach
• Explaining Behaviour
• Knowledge of Brain Processes
• Personal Interpretation of a Given Situation
• Business psychology terminology
• Developmental and Interactive Expressions of Behaviour
• Nature versus Nurture
• Influence of Environment on Learning Behaviour
• Modelling and Conformity
• Classical and Operative Conditioning
• Reinforcement & Punishment
• Mature & Immature Temperaments (e.g. Sanguine, Melancholic, Choleric, Phlegmatic
• Maslow’s Model of Self-Actualisation
• Ways of Seeking Applicants
• Types of Interview
• Ways of Selecting Staff
• Scope and nature of marketing
• Reasons for marketing
• Types of customers: loyal, discount, needs-based, wandering, impulse.
• Economic, economic, personal, apathetic shoppers
• Understanding reward options: rational, sensory, social, ego satisfaction
• Market segmentation
• Internal influence on perception and personality
• Internal influences – motivation and awareness
• Social influences
• Consumerism
• Communication and persuasion
• Nature and Scope of Business Coaching
• Improving productivity
• Marketing
• Improving business resource management
• PBL Based Project
• Significance of knowledge of interviewing and assessment
• Incentives and motivational strategies
• Productivity and marketing strategies
• Theoretical information to derive sensible solutions
• Initial business coaching assessment for a specified business
• Actions for improving and sustaining the level of performance

 

What is a Business Psychologist? 

A business psychologist is a coach with specific insights to help individuals, teams, and workplaces operate more efficiently. Their unique skill set is also valuable to executives and managers in leadership positions to help them build and manage successful teams that achieve business goals.

Business psychologists can specialise in many areas from organisational psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology and marketing psychology. At the heart of the profession is the ability to understand people and how they intersect with a business system and others. To put it simply – they are people experts.

 

Business Psychologist as Business Coach

As a business coach (or career coach), business psychologists focus on why individuals thrive (or don’t survive) in certain business situations or careers and offer support. This support is provided in leadership, teamwork, and business success.

Leadership

Help executives and managers hone their leadership style and abilities through leadership coaching. Businesses psychologists help leaders to identify and improve on their weaknesses and capitalise on strengths to lead successful teams

Teamwork

Conduct assessments, facilitate meetings and provide training to teams to help improve business outcomes.

Business Improvement

Carry out business or organisational audit to identify barriers to success, such as cultural barriers or system inadequacies that lead to lost productivity and retention of employees.

 

5 Careers That Benefit from Business Psychology

Several careers would benefit from business psychology skills, but the following are the most obvious. If you work in any one of these roles, a professional development course in business psychology is valuable for you.

 

1. Human Resources Professional 

Human resource professionals must have expertise in dealing with people, from recruitment to resolving workplace disputes and taking disciplinary action – psychology plays an integral role in this career.

 

2. Marketing Executive 

Marketing executives who understand and can predict why people think and behave in specific ways and how they make purchase decisions are valuable. If you work in marketing, a business psychology course will help you progress your career, especially in advertising, sales, research, training, and consumer advocacy roles.

 

3. Professional Development Coach 

Executive coaches, career counsellors or businesses coaches are responsible for making significant improvements in a person’s career or business. If you want to pursue a career as a coach, business psychology courses will provide the skills and knowledge to help people reach their business, career, and life goals.

 

4. Customer Relationship Specialist 

Customer satisfaction is a major priority for all businesses. As a result, businesses are investing in customer service specialists with expertise in resolving customer complaints with customer retention being the desired outcome. A background in business psychology is helpful for this role to understand human behaviour develop programs that encourage customer loyalty.

 

5. Recruitment or Training Specialist 

The success of any business relies on the recruitment and the retention of the right people. Professional recruiters and training specialists are critical to identifying the skills, knowledge and personality traits that fit not only the role but also the organisational culture. It’s easy to see why a recruitment professional or training specialist would benefit from a business psychology course, and why a business would value these unique skills.

 

Are you interested in adding a business psychology course to your professional development portfolio? Enrol in the Certificate of Business Psychology today and discover how to be a people expert. 

 

Integrating engaging User Experiences (UX) into digital strategies is vital in this increasingly social and mobile world. People expect more dynamic and engaging digital experiences, and those proficient in UX have insights into behavioural motivations that can create an optimal experience for the user.

Ideal for marketing specialists and website, graphic and digital learning designers, our Designing Digital Experiences course will help you enhance a design’s usability and accessibility. Your designs will go beyond just  ‘looking great’ to exploring the underlying human experience of a product or service. You’ll explore customer-centric design strategies, customer journey mapping and learn how to ‘user test’ for effective problem-solving.

You will also study the essential elements of user personas, how to engage with key stakeholders to formulate actionable data and insights and explore the relationship between the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX).

 

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a UX design course include:

• Learning how to achieve customer-centric design
• Exploring the elements of user personas
• Studying how to gather information
• Gaining insights into data elements in user personas
• Understanding how to build an effective user persona
• Learning about the benefits of user personas
• Exploring how to build a culture of design thinking
• Gaining insights into understanding the customer
• Studying how to refrain a problem
• Examining customer-centric brainstorming
• Understanding prototypes
• Learning how to conduct user tests
• Exploring the design thinking of innovation
• Gaining an understanding of how to define opportunities
• Studying constructive mindsets
• Gaining insights into creating experience maps
• Understanding how to use PODs to define opportunities
• Learning about affinity clustering
• Exploring actionable insights for design thinking
• Studying how to use opportunity statements
• Gaining insights into customer journey mapping
• Understanding how to establish a team
• Learning how to draft, update and complete a customer journey map
• Exploring how to prioritise a list of actions
• Studying how to avoid common mistakes
• Exploring the relationship between UI/UX design
• Understanding the user experience (UX design)
• Gaining insights into trends in UI/UX design
• Understanding the user interface (UI design)
• Learning about the trends in UI/UX design
• Exploring pleasing user experiences

Top UI/UX Trends for 2020

Website design trends come and go, but when creating a website, UI and UX (via a UX design course) are both integral to the success of a product or experience. Here are some of the top UI/UX trends for 2020.

 

Meaningful Content

Website design is increasingly focused on narrative and meaning as opposed to emotion and sensation because it helps to convey the essence of an organisation and its brand values. Unique visual design is essential, but content via digital storytelling is what truly engages viewers. A true connection means they are not just browsing — they want to be part of a brand’s story as well.

User Customisation

Providing a tailored and customised experience to users means you have a strong understanding of their needs. With UX and UI, customisation can be integrated on a range of website assets, including via navigation. When navigation is woven logically into an organisation’s ‘story’ and flow of information, engagement will be even more optimised.

Uninterrupted UX

If you are designing an E-commerce website, it’s important to consider a customer’s purchase journey. For example, how many pages do they have to scroll through in order to finalise their purchase? Too many pages can cause friction in their user experience, negatively divert their attention and even lose you the sale. Uninterrupted UX will ensure every piece of information the user needs about the product or service and how to acquire it, is easily accessible.

Data Visualisation

More and more businesses are focusing their website branding strategies on the use of visual data that is not only aesthetically pleasing but interactive as well. Data visualisation is not just about including charts and graphs to make data more digestible, it can also provide a ‘wow’ factor that will increase engagement with your target market.

Artificial Intelligence

The importance of AI continues to grow and AI assistants are becoming increasingly common …  hello, Smart devices! Just as DIY services like Squarespace and Wix have done, AI will increasingly become part of the web designer’s toolbox. An example – a designer creates a storyboard and feeds it to an algorithm. The algorithm then applies constraints to the storyboard and comes up with several template options. The result? The UX/UI designer is able to make more creative decisions and incorporate the technology across a variety of applications.

Augmented Reality

As new technologies arise, UI/UX trends are going above and beyond what is expected. Virtual reality (VR) is a complete immersion experience that shuts out the physical world and is already being used in entertainment systems like video games. Augmented reality (AR), however, adds a virtual layer onto the world we live in — something Microsoft refers to as ‘mixed reality’.

 

What is Customer Journey Mapping?

Customer journey mapping visually illustrates customers’ needs, perceptions and processes throughout their interaction and relationship with a brand. Often studied as part of a UX design course, it is all about leveraging the customer experience (CX). This will provide insights via core metrics, identify opportunities to optimize your CX, and diagnose CX issues. It can also help you identify where new products or services can improve existing customer journeys, or create completely new ones.

Most customer journeys fall into one of four categories:

• Onboarding ‑ for example, opening an account or taking out insurance.
• Maintaining ‑ for example, changing your address or calling for technical help.
• Using or owning – for example, using a smartphone or making an insurance claim.
• Renewal – for example, renewing services or subscriptions.

How To Identify Customer Touch Points

Analysing all of the touchpoints a potential customer has before, during and after an interaction with your brand plays a big part in customer journey mapping. It includes things that you directly influence, but also those controlled or influenced by third parties. This is because regardless of whether you are responsible for it, it still affects the customer experience.

Key questions to ask include:

• How did they access you? For example, your customer may find you through social media, advertising, online reviews or even by old-fashioned word of mouth.
• What did they do with you? For example, it could be navigating your website, visiting a store or interacting with your call centre or sales assistants.
• What did they afterwards? This might include querying product details, requesting a return or product support, subscribing to EDM’s, or filling out a customer feedback survey.

 

Once you map every touchpoint in a customer’s journey and collect feedback from each of them, it will be easier to spot pain points along the way and then work towards improving their experience.

How To Create A Customer Journey Map

Let’s look at an example of a customer wanting to take out a mortgage for a property. Customer touchpoints (in bold) could include:

1. A customer sees an ad from their bank detailing an attractive interest rate. Further research on the bank’s website prompts them to further investigate a mortgage.
2. An online mortgage calculator confirms the repayments are affordable, so they go to their local branch for a meeting with their bank manager.
3. Their queries are answered, so they return home and fill out an online application form.
4. They receive an email from the bank saying their application has been accepted, and they are invited to complete a full application
5. The customer fills out a full application form online and submits it, and an email is sent to them saying their application has been received.
6. However, some of the required information is missing, so a contact centre agent calls them to explain what information they still need to provide.
7. Eventually, the mortgage application is approved and the customer receives a letter with a mortgage offer.
8. Once the property purchase process has been completed, the customer then receives a final confirmation of the mortgage via email including details of the direct debit process and conditions etc. The process is now complete.

 

So that’s a total of 11 touchpoints. For many homebuyers, there will more depending on the bank, its process and the details involved — right up until the point of purchase. After that, there may still be communication about monthly statements, changes to interest rates, and other customer queries.

How To Fix Pain Points And Where

You might have a satisfied customer in terms of their attitudinal, affective, cognitive and behavioural response. Their satisfaction may also be evident via a Net Promoter Score (NPS) or a Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSAT). But how many other prospective customers found the website confusing, the application process too complicated, or customer service that did not meet their expectations … so they gave up?

This is why journey mapping is essential. By gathering feedback at each touchpoint, you can start to understand how each one contributes to the overall experience. And by being able to pinpoint specific pain points along their journey, you will be able to make improvements at the points it really matters.

Analysing these alongside your core CX metrics, you’ll be able to identify improvements that will have the biggest impact on their overall experience, and the impact on your organisation’s sales, conversion rates and customer lifetime value. Something you’ll learn the value of when undertaking a UX design course!

 

Is UX/UI design your passion? Learn how to integrate these as a critical piece of a customer’s digital journey in your marketing, creative or operational role with our Designing Digital Experiences course.