Content

  • Foundations of persuasion and influence
  • Ethical communication and transparency in government contexts
  • Negotiation principles and frameworks (e.g. BATNA, stakeholder mapping, Goldilocks Triangle)
  • Techniques to build rapport with colleagues and stakeholders
  • Thinking styles – understanding your own and awareness of others
  • Influencing skills and managing resistance
  • Examples drawn from public sector scenarios

Outcomes

  • Ability to apply ethical persuasion strategies in government decision-making
  • Enhanced influence skills to build consensus across diverse stakeholders
  • Practical negotiation techniques for resource allocation, policy delivery, and stakeholder consultation
  • Increased confidence in managing resistance and difficult conversations
  • Reflection and action planning for applying skills in participants’ current roles

Who Should Attend

  • Public sector managers and team leaders
  • Policy officers and project managers
  • Professionals engaged in stakeholder consultation, interdepartmental collaboration, or contract negotiation
  • Anyone seeking to strengthen their communication and negotiation impact in government settings

Benefits to You and Your Organisation

  • Improved ability to influence outcomes while maintaining public trust and transparency
  • Stronger negotiation capacity for achieving balanced, sustainable agreements
  • Enhanced collaboration across departments and with external partners
  • Tangible improvements in policy implementation and service delivery
  • Greater confidence and capability among staff, leading to more effective public administration

Learn about our speakers

Sharon Ferrier

Professional Speaker & Corporate Educator
Persuasive Presentations

Sharon has a knack for making the complex simple. She believes that ‘passionate people persuade’ and that to make your message stick, you need to balance information with delivery style.

Sharon’s background is in sales and marketing and along the way has studied business administration, marketing, management, journalism as well as more eclectic skills including comedy, improvisation and the art of persuasion.

As an award winning speaker and salesperson Sharon uses her skills to help people become persuasive and influential speakers. She works with individuals and organisations from a diverse range of industries across Australia and overseas.

She coaches senior people ranging from CEO’s and entrepreneurs, to Professors and PhD’s helping them to be engaging and persuasive presenters and enabling them to win pitches, tenders, fellowships and grants.

Upcoming course availability

In person

May 2026

Tuesday, 26 May 2026

In person

June 2026

Friday, 26 June 2026

Format
Face-to-face

Duration
1 full day
9:00am-4:30pm (8:45am registration)

Inclusions
Workbook, resources, morning tea, lunch and refreshments

Location
12 Pirie Street, Adelaide, SA 5000
(please visit registration links for further information)
View map

Costs
Personal Member $575
State Govt Employee Member $615
Corporate Member $625
Non-Member $725