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Courses For Remote International Work , Executive Certificate Course (Live Classes)
Business Development and Client Communication for International Professionals and Remote Workers
Duration - 6 Month,
Course fee: - INR 56250
This course is recognized by the National Skill Development Corporation, a PPP under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of India. You will receive a certificate cobranded by NSDC and Skill India on successful completion.
Introduction
There are literally thousands of ways you can try to improve your spoken and written English and communication, including taking numerous online and offline courses.
By all means, you should try them out. Learn how to order breakfast in English at a five star restaurant, or find out the best ways to open a conversation with someone at a party, or learn how to draft a flawless business letter.
Will that serve your purpose of working remotely with high potential international startups, getting promotions, collaborating effectively with global teams, and making effective presentations to foreign clients and the senior-most management?
If you have any doubts, just do a quick google search and you will find a lot of generic courses for learning English, that are perhaps more suitable for teenagers learning a new language, but not created specifically for working software engineers.
It is a routine story that software engineers try to learn English from a generic English course, and then fail to even stay interested because what they learn is clearly not what they needed to learn.
Why?
You know the answer as well as I do. Honestly, I cannot think of a single generic English language course that will teach you what you actually need to learn as an international professional or remote worker.
Now what if there was a course where you started fine tuning your English communication by conveying technical information in correct English in specific business situations typical for working with international clients and remote work,such as:
- Requirement gathering and analysis
- Client meetings
- Creating client proposals
- Performance reviews
- Professional presentations
- Pitching to international clients
- Resolving disputes within the team
- Stand up meetings and feedback meetings for your own team
- Inspiring and influencing your peers and team
- Using social media to get more opportunities
What is unique about this course?
- This is NOT a generic course on improving your English accent or general talk, or breakfast ordering skills - it directly focuses on improving your day-to-day client communication to succeed professionally, based on real-life scenarios.
- Apart from practical lessons, you will have access to numerous templates to use so that you can improve your daily communication.
- You will learn through Skill Arbitrage’s unique teaching methodology, comprising classes, exercises and in-line feedback on your submissions.
- You will have 3 weekly classes of 1.5 hours and perform 3 assignments every week. You will learn 2 skills and conduct outreach with potential clients every week.
- Any doubt regarding a topic shall be addressed within 24 hours.
- To pass the course, you must complete at least 50% of the assignments and attempt an MCQ test. The average study time required is about 1 hour per day, at your own place. If you miss a class, you can watch a recording.
Money-back guarantee
If you take this course, follow it diligently for a month, do all the exercises but still do not find value in it, or not able to understand or follow it or not find it good for any reason, we will refund the entire course fee to you. It is a 100% money-back guarantee with only one condition, you must pursue it properly for a month. If you don’t find it valuable after that, get your entire money back.
Training Methodology
Online 24/7 access
Access to basic study material through an online learning management system, Android and iOS app
Hard Copy Study Material
Hard copy study material modules to be couriered to your address
Practical Assignments
In-class assignments, 3 practical assignments every week (including real life outreach assignments) to develop your skill sets and apply them in the real world
Live Online Classes
Based on the assignments, there will be a live video-based online class. You can ask questions, share your screen, and get personal feedback in this class.
Convenient Class timings
Classes are held after regular work hours. Typically classes are kept on Sunday or 8-9 pm on other weekdays or Saturday.
Live Doubt Clearing
You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums
Feedback methodology
Group feedback during classes by the instructor, In-line feedback by a trained evaluator, Improve week on week with feedback, use assignments as work samples on remote work platforms or in job interviews
Certification
This course is recognized by the National Skill Development Corporation, a PPP under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of India. You will receive a certificate cobranded by NSDC and Skill India on successful completion.
This is how the certificate from NSDC and Skill India will look as per the current applicable format (may change as per the approval authorities):
Online Faculty
Swaneet Bhatia,
is an expert in 7 languages, a professional international interpreter, translator, speaker and author of a book published by Yale University.
Syllabus
How to create winning client proposals for international clients 
Understanding what a client is looking for in a proposal and their client’s mindset
How to establish high value
How to demonstrate your track record - testimonials, sample projects, etc.
How to describe your scope of work and rules for engagement with clarity
Follow-ups and their importance
Model engagement letter/consultancy agreement
Practice assignments
How to impress a recruiter/ prospective client in an interview
Preparation
How to structure your conversation
How to ensure you do not to speak more than required
Research about the recruiter/ client - work, market, recruiter’s/ client’s clients, obstacles you might face while working with them
How to develop familiarity with the recruiter’s/ client’s product and suggest improvements in a positive way
Practise mock interviews with someone who is in a similar industry (or a friend at least)
What an ideal interview should have
Structured conversations
Not to speak more than required
You lead the interview with company, market and product research
You are honest, excited, and ambitious
You have a track record - work samples which are available, testimonials from other satisfied clients, ex-bosses, etc.
You share powerful stories/war stories and case studies to demonstrate your ability
Provide a low risk onboarding option for the client
You obtain clarity on deadlines, deliverables, how your performance would be measured, remuneration, incentives, etc.
Intelligent questions about your deliverables, project budgets, etc.
You set expectations or recommend a few things that you need from the client/recruiter to be fully effective - initial information, resources to get started, or a SPOC, etc.
Why you need to ask powerful and hard questions about the client and the work to impress a client
Questions about why this specific project/role is critical and how it contributes to the business and future vision of the client
Questions about your deliverables
Questions about the future direction of the industry
How to have conversations about money effectively
Examples and templates
How to conduct yourself like a master in a project kickoff meeting
Preparation, scheduling, agenda and invitations
How to start the meeting
Setting the context
Ice-breaker questions
Restating the client’s background and their expectations
Key aspects of the project plan
timeline,
important milestones and key deliverables
budget
assumptions and dependencies
Risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies
Risk management plans
Data points that will be tracked to measure success and their periodicit
Assist the team to picturise what success will look like
Any documentation/training manuals to be created
Post meeting to-do list and actionables
Common reasons for project failure
Unclear requirements/ not capturing viewpoints of all stakeholders
Ground-reality problem not captured
Working with the wrong assumptions
Often, a narrow/wrong solution is proposed, without debate
Pre-mortems are not conducted
Disagreements on deliverables, unreasonable iterations/modifications because of lack of written documentation on project deliverables
Common reasons for project failure (Bonus chapter for IT professionals)
Common problems that emerge when non-tech founders/clients/business teams give requirements to developers
Requirements are unclear
Gathering requirements for a complex project with many different stakeholders in different countries is challenging
The user’s real pain point and why it needs to be solved is not explained to the developer
Often, a narrow/wrong solution is proposed
Incomplete or partial logic
All relevant scenarios are not identified
User story is not accurately/fully captured
Future disagreements on requirements because of lack of documented requirement gathering process
What are the typical challenges when the stakeholders are situated in different countries?
How to meet the challenges working in a culturally diverse team separated by geography and timezone and working on the same project
How successful freelancers capture requirements and impress clients step-by-step
Leading the process of gathering requirements
Hand-holding clients to lockdown requirements
Using well,thought-out templates
Bringing/requesting multiple stakeholders to be together in important strategic meetings
Breaking down unmanageable complexity into a structured, phased plan
Closing out uncertainties, one by one,
Putting in assumptions to work with where there is lack of clarity
Clearly putting the ball in the client’s court where there is a problem
Using reminders effectively
What are the steps to get complete requirements
Getting a broad understanding of the user’s pain point (user story) from the client
Explaining to the client why user stories are critical
Discussing relevant branches of the user story that may get impacted
Assessing the client’s suggested solution, if provided
Proposing solutions/discussing alternatives where possible
Setting up meetings wherever necessary to obtain clarifications for your assessment
Sending meeting minutes Collaborating
Identifying scenarios where the logic can potentially fail
Documenting
Obtaining client sign-off
Sample email scripts and exercises for practice
What are the best practices to obtain client sign-offs on requirements effectively and avoid future disagreements
Requesting permissions to record/taking notes
Keeping different project stakeholders in the loop
Sending structured minutes highlighting the requirement change and its implications
Obtaining confirmations from the client or their representatives
Keeping the relevant decision-marker/SPOC/Project Manager in loop
Templates and practice assignments
Expectation-setting with clients and seniors
Common reasons why clients underestimate complexity of tech projects and how to frame it realistically for a client
One little feature for a client might mean a systemic overhaul from a coding perspective
How to request document the user story
Drilling down to the necessary detail to freeze requirements
How to buy time for assessment without making a commitment
Variables that clients understand: Resource requirements, coding man-hours, Lines of code, necessity for the business vis-a-vis the budget
Identifying third party dependencies and requesting the client’s assistance where possible to expedite things
Other things that you can communicate
What are the outcomes of successful vs. failed expectation-setting?
Outcomes of failed expectation setting: Failed projects, frustration, overwork, unpaid dues, poor recommendations, relationships, losses, etc.
Outcomes of correct expectation setting: Project fulfilment, client satisfaction, profits, recommendations, career growth, excellent public feedback, etc.
Bonus chapter for IT professionals: Common areas of problems that are faced by IT professionals and software developers with respect to expectation-setting on the following items:
Common areas of communication and project failure with clients:
Deliverables
Deadlines
Response times and availability on call
Change requests
Iterations
Pricing and modifications in case of any of the above
Testimonials, recommendations and introductions
User acceptance testing from the client’s end
Identifying appropriate opportunities for expectation-setting with clients:
Brochures
Agreements
Emails
Phone calls
When to clarify/remind the expectations
How to set expectations with respect to each of the above items (with practice writing and oral assignments as a remote freelancer)
How to bring any breach of expectations to the client’s attention politely in everyday communication (without causing harm to the relationship), with oral and written practice assignments
What to do and how to course correct midway when you realise that you have failed/missed setting expectations on a particular area
What to do if you have failed to meet client’s expectations and how to restore the client’s trust
What are the top 5 unplanned and unpredictable scenarios that can derail your project execution or development plans even if you do everything right
How to deal with the mess as a result of imperfect expectation setting
How to propose your idea in meetings, brainstorming sessions, and strategic discussions even when it is a work-in-progress
Why speaking up and sharing your ideas and challenges is important
The person on the ground has a very important role to play on the battlefield
The leader/client cannot succeed without you succeeding
“Leading upwards” is a recognised concept in management
Adding perspective from various vantage points
There is nothing to lose for you
Sometimes you need to share the challenges and bad news
Product releases won’t be timely if you don’t share the challenges or deliver bad news
People win trust by honestly sharing limitations
Some roadblocks may require an immediate and much needed course correction for the client, he/she will thank you for it
Why your solutions need not be complete or perfect, and yet you need to propose them
Some conversations demand on the spot suggestions
It takes time to give full shape to an idea (e.g. Avatar - The Way of Water), but if you don’t propose it the producer will not give you the movie
If you propose something interesting, you can buy time and win support of others to develop the idea
Elon Musk may not personally design spacecraft but hired the best engineers and collaborated with NASA with the vision statement that he wants “humans to be a spacefaring species”
How to practise making a difference with your inputs
Problem vs. solution-oriented thinking
Use the most likely assumptions to build your solution
Focus on the top argument
Give examples or reasons to substantiate it
Using important data points
Use back of the envelope calculations where needed
Practice assignments, templates and scripts
How to lead/conduct and participate in daily stand-ups and other meetings with your teams like a startup CEO
What the standup script templates in the market and automated bots miss out on
When to dig deeper on yesterday’s accomplishments
How to identify what moves the needle for the day individually and as a team
Recreating the importance of the mission where needed
How to get meaningful commitments for today, each day
Identifying where to step in and where to let your team figure out the impediments
When and how to appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of your team members
Best practices for other important meetings:
Onboarding meeting
Brainstorming meetings
Budget and financing meetings
Problem solving, decision making, and product review meetings
Status update, check-in, and feedback meetings
Managing up: How to keep your client/senior onboard and inspired through the journey of your delivery cycle until delivery of a complex project (and after)
What a client expects from you
Protocols for communication prior to delivery
How to maintain the client’s excitement and interest through the delivery cycle
Relevance of previews, demos to onboard clients beforehand
Obtaining client inputs before delivery to maintain their alignment
Daily progress
How to write effective reports and make effective presentations
This module is self explanatory
How to write high quality training documents and manuals (or clearly understandable comments for your code if you are an IT professional)
This module is self explanatory
How to deal with last minute modifications and change requests in a way that solves the problem
Common reasons why last minute requirements may be made to your scope of work
The client is not experienced in giving clear requirements to techies
Your requirement gathering process was not foolproof
Business requirements have evolved before your delivery
The Project Manager had given incomplete requirements
Someone else who is higher up intervened
Other reasons, e.g. investor backed out so the scope is smaller, or the internal team was laid off so you have to handle some part of their work as well
How to decide whether you should accommodate or decline a change request
Possible ways to accommodate changes in requirements mid-delivery
Having a conversation to identify what is critical and what is not
Identifying what can be excluded from your next delivery to include the new change
Proposing adjustments in timelines and cost, where needed
What are the scenarios where you can propose a price increase?
How to objectively explain and persuade clients about the justifications for a price increase
How to say no and decline requests without being rude and preserve your honour and integrity
Common psychological reasons and fears why professionals are unable to decline requests
Will the client judge me as incapable/incompetent?
Will the client pay me less than I quote if I say no?
Shouldn’t I provide more value than what I charge?
Will I lose the client?
Other reasons
What are the consequences or implications of not saying “no” at the right time?
Project failure
Overwork
Anxiety
Stress
Losing your client’s faith
Losing your team’s faith
Other consequences
When do you need to decline a request
Your pricing requirements are not being adhered to (use it carefully)
Your expectations are being regularly breached
Requirements are being changed frequently and exhaustively
Client is unwilling to appreciate objective constraints
Client is being disrespectful or abusive
Client is incommunicado for weeks and then reverts with sudden demands of urgent deliverables
What happens if your “no” is not communicated properly? How do professionals botch up saying no?
You may appear arrogant
They appear insensitive to client’s needs
They do not give proper justifications
Their personal frustrations and anger take centre stage
They engage with the client in an emotional domain vs. an objective domain
Preparation to say no appropriately
Dealing with your background emotions (anger, pressure, frustration, etc.)
Dealing with your perceptions about the client (miser, wants a slave, etc.)
Identifying your real objectives behind saying no
Identifying 1-3 solid justifications which are objective
Aligning it with the client’s objectives
Pre-empting the client’s response by spelling it out
Keeping the idea separate from the identity
Practice routines
Practice before a mirror
Record and listen to how you sound
Write bullet points before you speak to the client
Write an email and read it three times, maybe after a break
Do a roleplay with a buddy and get feedback
Keep speaking techniques in mind in order to ensure organisation
Practice assignments to do this
When should you say no vs. stretch yourself?
What is a healthy stretch?
What are the tests to recognise whether you should say no or stretch yourself?
How to recognise the difference between a minimum commitment vs. a stretch challenge and communicate appropriately to the client
Recognising how and when to walk away from a client
Scripts and templates for saying no
Practice assignments
How to identify hidden assumptions and biases that business teams may operate from and point them out in a constructive way
What happens when business teams/clients operate from a subconscious bias?
Incorrect or incomplete information about project requirements
Incorporation of confirmation bias
Non-alignment to the objective due to convergent and divergent stimuli
Focussing on the wrong problems
Disproportionate focus on minor problems
Not appreciating your coding challenge
What are the types of biases and how do they play out in everyday conversations?
Anchoring bias - the tendency to rely too heavily on one trait or piece of information when making decisions
Functional fixedness - a tendency limiting a person to use an object only in the way it is traditionally used
Availability bias - tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events
Normalcy bias - refusal to plan for, or react to, a disaster which has never happened before
Congruence bias - tendency to test hypotheses exclusively through direct testing, instead of testing possible alternative hypotheses
Observer-expectancy effect - when a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it
Status quo bias - tendency to prefer things to stay relatively the same
Illusory truth effect - tendency to believe that a statement is true if it is easier to process, or if it has been stated multiple times, regardless of its actual veracity
Additive bias - tendency to solve problems through addition, even when subtraction is a better approach
Information bias - tendency to seek information even when it cannot affect action
Intentionality bias - tendency to judge human action to be intentional rather than accidental
Bandwagon effect - tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same
Courtesy bias - tendency to give an opinion that is more socially correct than one's true opinion, so as to avoid offending anyone
Reactance - urge to do the opposite of what someone wants one to do out of a need to resist a perceived attempt to constrain one's freedom of choice
Pygmalion effect - phenomenon whereby others' expectations of a target person affect the target person's performance
Other biases
How to recognise and navigate beyond biases without offending clients
How to recognise when a bias could be at play, and which bias is or could be at play
What kind of discussion may be necessary to confirm the bias
What kinds of questions to ask a client so that the bias is revealed to the client in a harmless way
How to find concrete examples, use cases and data points to prove the bias
What to do if the client is unable to identify the bias
Possible directions after a bias is recognised: narrowing down requirements, identifying a simplified delivery, postponing dates, increasing resources, etc.
How to formulate open ended yet precise questions that yield linear responses and/or leading questions
How to loop in key stakeholders, get them aligned and get their sign-off
Keeping them posted on shipment
Practice scenarios, conversation templates and scripts
Why you need to be a champion of correct and user-friendly English for every product release to stand out and get projects
Why getting English right at various steps of product delivery is your competitive advantage as a freelancer and your access to big bonuses, hikes and referrals
Common types of English mistakes made in product releases and why it happens
Grammatical and punctuation errors
Erroneous or stupid language from a user journey perspective
Incomplete understanding of the product and the pain point it resolves
Why clients are upset with developers who use good code with bad English
Common excuses made by developers for getting English wrong and why it does not work
What do you need to do to champion accurate use of language
Learn English grammar
Understand the product features
Use language that makes sense to the user
Understand how a CEO or a marketer thinks
Review requirements, important emails, wireframes, and the final software for English accuracy
Train your team
Negotiation and persuasion strategies that exponentially increase your effectiveness, client and team satisfaction whether you are a freelancer or a corporate employee at any level
How to identify opportunities for negotiation and persuasion in everyday scenarios
Client interviews
Meetings
Project update reports
Management presentations
Crises
Understanding Win-win vs. win-lose scenarios
How to expand the frame when you find the conversation to not move forward
What you need to understand about persuasion and negotiation as an international professional or remote worker
Negotiation is not always a win-lose scenario
Through incorporating the right negotiation strategy, one can manoeuvre through obstacles and create a shared-gain outcome
Expanding the frame is crucial
Past credibility and track record helps when you negotiate
Delivery and keeping promises helps you negotiate better
Understanding non-negotiables of the client profoundly and aligning them with the attainable
Persuasion is not a one-off incident
Persuasive techniques for instilling faith and building trust
Relevance of showing examples, proof, and case studies helps
Negotiation and persuasion may not be billable, but they help you learn more
Identifying the variables
Budgets
Salaries and incentives
Deadlines
Deliverables
Resource requirements
Identifying what business teams want for different stakeholders
Users/sign-ups
New features
Revenues/profits
Other metrics (GMV, etc.)
Listening practice and exercises to identify the most important priorities
How to identify common biases
Communication scripts and templates
When to use your persuasion skills, inspiring and influencing your peers and the team
Leading from the front and setting examples
How to give due credit to the team for their hard work
How to assist team in setting correct targets and making them believe that they are achievable
How to ensure coordination between team members
How to handle self-doubt conversations of your team members
How to help your team handle bad/ negative feedback
How to set correct expectations relating to promotions and appraisals
How to train them to handle difficult clients/ client conversations
Letting people go conversations and how to help people choose what is best for them
How to listen actively in order to formulate and provide solutions
How to resolve disputes and conflicts within your team or with clients
Blame mindset vs. solution mindset
What the default (blame) mindset perceives when there is conflict: incompetence, politics, personal agendas
Real reasons why conflicts arise: Time constraints, Communication problems, Lack of responsibility allocation/clarity on the role, Poor processes, Unclear expectation setting or performance standards
How to practise and apply this in real life
What to do to resolve conflicts in reality
Letting go of the need to find blame or fault, no matter how much people want you to do it
Identifying the objective problem that was faced in reality
Emphasising what is needed to make the project/product delivery a success
Finding a new way of cooperation
Getting alignment/buy-in on the solution from both sides
Creating a new mechanism for collaboration
Implementing an escalation mechanism so that the problem is identified in advance
How and when to let a person go in a drama-free manner
How to deliver product pitches and conversations to build your brand, raise investments and convert high-potential clients
Types of pitches and how they are different:
Investor pitch
Client pitch
TED or TEDx talk
How to be on podcasts to build your personal brand
How to use webinars to generate leads and persuade prospective clients
How to deliver elevator pitches
How to pitch a product or a service to investor
at ideation stage and get funding
after developing MVP (minimum viable product)
after testing it on a limited number of target group and making improvements/ fixing bugs
after selling it to a specific market and getting a good response
Practice assignments
How to communicate your ideas
What big issues your product/ software/ App can resolve
What kind of market is there and is it targeting developed economies or not
How to highlight various problems with similar products available in the market and how your product can solve it
How to make a projection which doesn’t looks overrated but at the same time doesn’t looks impossible to achieve with the funding expected
Giving and taking feedback from your team
How to make feedback mechanisms work
Ideal meeting rhythms to give and take feedback
Keep feedback clear and objective
Use feedback mechanisms as a tool for expectation setting, recognition, rewards and incentives
Types of feedback mechanisms recognised in management and startup life
360 degree feedback (Manager feedback + Feedback from juniors)
Client feedback
Peer feedback
Skip-level feedback
Anonymous feedback
Using a feedforward to inspire your team in future
Scripts and practice for feedback and feedforward
Common mistakes people make in giving feedback
Not having a predetermined occasion for feedback - most people avoid feedback routines
Giving feedback at the wrong time
Feedback being emotional or vague or subjective
Using feedback to deny requests for a raise or increment
Sugarcoating negative feedback
Not “spelling out” the feedback and assuming that the other person has understood
Other reasons
How to deliver harsh feedback objectively without being rude (possibly even inspire)
Why it is important to obtain feedback about yourself irrespective of your level of seniority
How to have training and performance improvement conversations
How to help your team to track their performance
Feedback conversation scripts and email templates
Practice assignments to do this in real life
How to be bulletproof in your spirits but criticism friendly
Bonus practice assignments
Providing support to a client in the US or UK
Discussing website design or functionality with your boss who sits in Australia
Describing the specifications of a new product before the board of a company in Canada
Selling or troubleshooting applications for your client who is the CTO of a multimillion dollar company in Dubai
Explaining general IT terms or basic coding vocabulary to a group of non-technical Japanese or Chinese investors (for IT professionals only, non-IT professionals to do the reverse - create a technical
Making a presentation on how well your team did last year before the Global CEO, CTO and CFO
Participating in a review meeting with your business team in Singapore
Speaking at a public event about your next project as you have been invited as a keynote speaker
Interact with international clients in English at an offsite location
Write software descriptions, user interfaces, and manuals in technical English for a global customer base
Present reports, analyses, client proposals, and reviews using English customised for IT
Negotiate with senior management and colleagues, or perform other management functions
Course Plan
Standard
₹ 56250
incl. of all charges
Instructor led course with online live classes
3 online live classes per week (6 months)
Get digital access to entire study material
Printed study material (by courier)
1 speaking and writing/presentation based assignment based on a real-life scenario in the IT industry/ startups + 1 outreach assignment
Instructor feedback on assignments
One-on-one in-line evaluations
Access on LMS, Android & iOS app
Doubt clearing on Discord, LMS & classes
Online exams (give exams as per your convenience on given time slots)
Certificate (by courier)
Assistance to secure placement opportunities and remote freelance work
Networking opportunities with existing students & alumni
Coaching for expanding your professional network
Interview preparation support
Content access for 3 years
Doubt clearing within 24 hours
